Swiss Indoors: Fritz makes second round defeating Vacherot

Top seed Taylor Fritz survived a first-round scare at the Swiss Indoors on Wednesday, battling past in-form Monegasque wildcard Valentin Vacherot in a marathon three-set encounter at the St. Jakobshalle.

The American world No. 4 eventually prevailed 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in a demanding match that lasted two hours and 36 minutes, avoiding an upset against the reigning Shanghai Masters 1000 champion.

Vacherot, who entered the match with a career-high ranking of 39 after his fairytale run in China—becoming the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history—broke Fritz twice to claim the opening set and initially carried the momentum from his recent title.

Fritz, who is competing to consolidate his spot in the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, struggled to contain Vacherot’s aggressive game. The top seed failed to covert save four set points on Vacherot’s serve at 5-3 in the second set, before finally finding his range to win the set in a tie-break. The American raced to a 4-0 lead in the tie-break before closing it out 7-4.

Now, Fritz knows

The topsy-turvy nature of the match continued into the decider, with Fritz securing an early break for a 4-2 lead, only for Vacherot to immediately break back and level at 4-4. The deciding moment came at 6-5 when Vacherot, serving to force a final set tie-break, dropped his serve for the second time in the set, sending Fritz through to the next round. The American finished the match with 21 aces.

Following the win, Fritz acknowledged the quality of his opponent, particularly in the slower conditions. “As we played the match, I started to see why those conditions [in Shanghai] suit him very well,” Fritz said. “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.”

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Fritz, who extends his flawless 12-0 record in hard-court openers this season, will now face Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the second round. Humbert defeated Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match. The head-to-head record between Fritz and Humbert stands at 1-1, with their last meeting in 2023 ending in a three-set victory for the American.

Basel ATP 500, other first-round results (St. Jakobshalle., hard, EUR 2.523.045, most recent results first):

• Felix Auger-Aliassime (5) beat Gabriel Diallo: 6-2, 7-5
• Casper Ruud (4) beat Quentin Halys (LL): 6-1, 7-6 (3)
• Ugo Humbert beat Sebastian Korda: 6-3, 6-4
• Botic van de Zandschulp (LL) beat Jiri Lehecka (6): 6-2, 6-2
• Stan Wawrinka (WC) beat Miomir Kecmanovic: 6-1, 7-6 (3)
• Ben Shelton (2) beat Kamil Majchrzak (Q): 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (7)
• Denis Shapovalov (9) beat Marcos Giron: 6-7 (3), 6-0, 7-6 (4)
• Joao Fonseca beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: 7-6 (6), 6-3
• Valentin Royer (LL) beat Raphael Collignon: 6-4, 7-6 (5)
• Marin Cilic (Q) beat David Goffin (LL): 7-6 (9), 7-5
• Reilly Opelka (Q) beat Sebastian Baez: 6-3, 6-4
• Jakub Mensik (7) beat Henry Bernet (WC): 7-6 (1), 6-7 (7), 6-3
• Jaume Munar beat Remy Bertola (Q): 6-2, 6-4
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (8) beat Lorenzo Sonego: 7-6 (2), 6-4
• Jenson Brooksby beat Alexandre Muller: 6-4, 6-3