Fritz solid in his Stuttgart opener

American Taylor Fritz, the second seed, reached the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open by winning against Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-3, 7-6 (6) at Tennisclub Weissenhof Stuttgart on Wednesday afternoon.

In the first set, the American managed to break his opponent in his very first service game and held on to that advantage until the end. It was the only break of the match. In the second set, Taylor Fritz saved two break points at 2-1 in favor of Quentin Halys.

In the tie-break, both players won all their points on serve up to 6-6. The Frenchman then hit a costly double fault. Taylor Fritz went on to win the match with a crosscourt backhand winner.

I’m a different player

“We served very well today and I saved two break points in the second set, so I’m pleased with my level of play. The double fault in the tie-break at 6-6 hurt him and I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to close out the match. The first time I played here was in 2016, when I lost to Roger Federer. Since then, I’m a completely different player, and I’ve come a long way in almost 10 years.” said Fritz on the court after his victory.

Fritz, ranked No 7, will face Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics next.

In the previous round of the Stuttgart tournament, Halys, ranked No 47, edged out Italian Lorenzo Sonego (6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4).

Stuttgart ATP 250, other second-round results (Tennisclub Weissenhof Stuttgart, grass, EUR 751.630, most recent results first):

• Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Alex Michelsen vs. Justin Engel
• Learner Tien vs. Brandon Nakashima
• Alexander Zverev vs. Corentin Moutet
• Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Jiri Lehecka
• Ben Shelton (3) beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert (Q): 7-6 (4), 7-5
• Marton Fucsovics beat Arthur Rinderknech: 7-6 (4), 6-3