Fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz continued to display his top form on Thursday at the Australian Open, routing Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 in second-round action.
In his two victories, Fritz has lost a total of eight games.
The 27-year-old entered the tournament having led the U.S. team to the United Cup title earlier this month. He finished last season on a roll, too, reaching his first career Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open before advancing to the title match at the ATP Finals.
“It always feels great to come out and play a match like that,” Fritz said. “I played well in the first round, too, so I’m high in confidence going into the third round. This is awesome.”
Fritz racked up 24 winners to Garin’s nine, and Garin committed 32 errors to Fritz’s 20. The U.S. player took advantage of seven of his nine break chances without ever conceding a break point.
Following the match, Fritz, a Southern California native, announced that he was donating his first-round winnings (more than $80,000 U.S.) to relief efforts related to the wildfire disaster in the Los Angeles area.
“Southern California’s my home and L.A. was my home for a very long time, so I’m just doing what I can do to help,” he said. “I would encourage anyone else who can donate to help, too, because a lot of people really need help.”
Next up for Fritz is a matchup against another hot player, 38-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils. Last week, Monfils won the event at Auckland, New Zealand, to become the oldest player to capture an ATP Tour-level title since 1977.
Monfils defeated Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (3) on Thursday.
In other second-round action, No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia whipped U.S. qualifier Tristan Boyer 6-2, 6-4, 6-3; No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy downed Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6), 6-2; Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic upset No. 18 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-4, 6-4, 6-2; Canada’s Gabriel Diallo dumped No. 19 Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3, 6-3; No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States topped Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4; and No. 31 Francisco Cerundolo advanced when fellow Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta retired while trailing 6-2, 1-0.
–Field Level Media
