Taylor Fritz recorded 44 winners and saved all six break points en route to a 6–7 (4), 6–2, 7–5 win over sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open at Mason, Ohio.
Fritz, the 11 seed, delivered 13 aces while earning a showdown with top-seeded Daniil Medvedev. He overcame 26 unforced errors and six double faults to slay Rublev of Russia at the Cincinnati-area event.
“I felt at times my serve rhythm was going away, but I just didn’t want to go a break down in the second set,” Fritz said afterward. “I tried to hit some good serves, take some more risks. I thought at the end of the first I was too passive. So I told myself to take chances (in the second set)….