Taylor Fritz had to dig deep to overcome Valentin Vacherot 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 at the Swiss Open in Basel.
Fritz earned a break at deuce in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. Vacherot broke straight back in the fourth game to draw level to 4-4. Fritz saved two break points in the sixth game to hold serve for 3-3.
Both players held on serve until the 10th game when Vacherot broke serve to close out the first set 6-4.
Fritz converted his third break point in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The S player squandered four set points on return at 5-3 in the second set. Vacherot broke back in the next game to draw level to 5-5. Fritz raced out to a 4-0 ln the tie-break and earned five set points at 6-1. Vacherot saved three set points before Fritz closed out the tie-break 7-4.
Fritz broke serve in the sixth game of the third set to take a 4-2 lead. Vacherot broke straight back in the seventh game for 3-4 before holding serve to draw level to 4-4. Fritz closed out the third set 6-4 with a break in the 10th game.
Fritz will face Ugo Humbert, who beat Sebastian Korda 6-3 6-4. Humbert has won 14 of his past 16 indoor matches and reached finals at the Masters 1000 in Paris and in ATP 250 in Marseille.
“As we played the match, I started to see why those conditions in Shanghai suit him very well. When the balls got worn out and it slowed down a lot, that’s when he was controlling me the most and dominating me. In the last game, I was able to get the break on new balls. I was more in control of the match when it was playing a bit faster”, said Fritz.
Casper Ruud beat Quentin Halys 6-1 7-6 (7-3) to reach the Round of 16 at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
Ruud earned two breaks in the second and sixth games to win the first set 6-1. The Norwegian player went up a set and a break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Halys broke back in the fourth game to draw level to draw level to 2-2.
Both players went on serve with no breaks of serve en route to the tie-break. Ruud earned two breaks of serve to open up a 4-1 lead. Halys pulled one break back in the sixth game to reduce the deficit to 2-4. Ruud won three of the next four points to close out the tie-break 7-3.
Felix Auger Aliassime beat Gabriel Diallo 6-2 7-5 in an all-Canadian clash. Auger Aliassime fired eight aces and broke four times. Diallo matched Auger Aliassime with eight aces and won just 35% of his second serve points.
Auger Aliassime broke twice in the third and eighth games to win the first set 6-2.
Auger Aliassime broke at love in the first game. Diallo broke back in the second game to draw level to 1-1. Diallo saved a total of five break points in the fifth and ninth games. Auger Aliassime saved two set points to hold serve at deuce before earning the break at 15 in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead. The fifth seed served out the win on his first match point in the 12th game. Auger Aliassime won two back-to-back tiles in Basel in 2022 and 2023.
Auger Aliassime and Ruud, who won titles in Brussels and Stockholm last week. are ranked 9th and 11th in the ATP Live to Turin.
“Diallo is a hell of a player,” said Auger-Aliassime.
“It was tough to play such a good friend, a bit awkward. I don’t think I have ever been so nervous at the start of a match. Throughout the year we are messaging each other, cheering each other up. It’s amazing that we get to play against each other on the ATP Tour”, said Auger Aliassime.
