Fritz crashes out of US Open third round to Cerundolo
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
NEW YORK, Sept 5 : American Taylor Fritz crashed out in the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday, losing to Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 in his earliest exit from his home major in four years.
Fritz had not dropped a set in the previous two rounds and looked to be among the prime contenders to end a 23-year U.S. men’s major drought but Cerundolo brought his best level to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time.
He next plays either Belgian Alexander Blockx or Italian Flavio Cobolli.
“He was playing way better than me the first two sets,” said Cerundolo, who played on Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time. “I started getting into it step by step and I think fourth and fifth I played really good tennis. I wasn’t finding that tennis in the previous sets, previous rounds.”
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Fritz had cruised through his second-round match in little more than 90 minutes and looked well on his way to another smooth victory, saving 11 of the 13 break points he faced in the opening two sets.
But after trading breaks early in the third set, the Argentine dug in his heels, and the 2024 runner-up looked exasperated when he hit a wonky shot beyond the baseline on break point in the sixth game.
Cerundolo upped his level as Fritz struggled with uncharacteristic mistakes in the fourth set and the American smacked his racket against his thigh after sending another shot long on break point in the fifth game.
The Argentine made his opponent sprint back and forth along the baseline with a series of powerful precision shots in the ninth game of the final set, where Fritz’s shoelace snapped as he was serving at 15-40 down.
The brief interruption did nothing to break Cerundolo’s stride and Fritz whacked the ball into the net to gift his opponent the break on the next point. The Argentine sealed the win with a fine backhand strike.
Source: Reuters
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
