Taylor Fritz overcame Kei Nishikori in a blockbuster quarterfinal clash of two players that made it to the Top 10 on the ATP Tour at the 2023 Atlanta Open.
Former world no. 4 from Japan is back, and he suddenly became a threat to anyone and an opponent that players will want to avoid early in the draw. Two players didn't manage to do that as Nishikori cruised comfortably in his opening matches , but that was only until he met Fritz in the quarterfinals.
Coming off a final loss from Los Angeles, where he competed at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, the top seed in Atlanta had enough motivation to do that, and after avenging the final loss from UTS to Yibing Wu already in the second round, the top-ranked America in the ATP Rankings faced probably the most experienced player left in the draw.
But already during his comeback, Nishikori seems to be struggling with physical issues once again. This time, his knee is bothering him, and it showed also during this match as the world no. 439 needed a medical time-out between the sets.
The first set was quite straightforward, and even though it seemed that it would be decided in a tie-break, it wasn't. That was thanks to a solid effort from Fritz to win three consecutive points on return at 5-4, to secure the only break point of the set and also the only break, which meant a 6-4 win.
After the medical time-out, Nishikori obviously struggled with his movement a bit, not taking away from the American's performance. Fritz was impressive, especially on his serve, rarely losing any easy points.
Throughout the match, the second-highest member of the Top 10 hit seven aces, and thanks to great returning in the second set, he was able to secure two breaks of serve, winning the match 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 10 minutes.
In the semifinals, he will play against the eighth-seeded J.J. Wolf, while Nishikori will focus on the 2023 Citi Open in Washington, where he's set to compete, and Fritz will join him too after he's finished in Atlanta.
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