“I was serving unreal” – Fritz outguns Opelka to reach the last 16
Taylor Fritz marched into the Miami Open last 16 with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 win over compatriot Reilly Opelka on Sunday. The No. 6 seed is now the last top-ten player standing in the Alcaraz quarter of the draw.
Taylor Fritz, Miami 2026 | © PsNewz
American seed No. 6 Taylor Fritz defeated compatriot Reilly Opelka 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday to advance to the last 16, where he will face Czech seed No. 21 Jiri Lehecka.
Fritz, ranked No. 7, was never seriously tested. Opelka won only 62 per cent of points on his serve against a player who claimed 83 per cent of his own, and converted just 13 per cent of return points – six from 46 – across the match. The big American lost serve twice, at 2-1 in the first set and 3-3 in the second, and had no answer for Fritz’s dominance on serve, which produced ten aces.
“It was really nice to not have to get into those pressure situations,” Fritz said after the match. “You expect to play some breakers, maybe be in some tight spots on serve. So it’s nice to get a break early in the first and find it as well in the second and get through that without any stress.”
Fritz and Opelka, old friends
Fritz and Opelka are long-standing friends, part of a generation of American players, alongside Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, who grew up competing against each other on the junior circuit. Asked what it is like to face a close friend, Fritz was candid. “It’s not necessarily fun to play your friends. I’ve been doing it for a long, long time. You just go out and compete. It is what it is.” He was equally self-deprecating when asked who was the strongest of the group as teenagers. “When I kind of met all of them and we were like 14, 15, I was the worst for sure.”
Fritz reached the third round after beating Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 in the previous round. Opelka had arrived in the last 16 via victories over seed No. 25 Jack Draper of Britain 7-6(3), 7-6 and Portuguese Nuno Borges 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(5).
With Alcaraz eliminated earlier on Sunday by seed No. 32 Sebastian Korda, Fritz is now the last top-ten seed standing in that quarter of the draw.
