DC Open: Taylor Fritz, Gael Monfils advance to third round

Top seed Taylor Fritz of the US defeated practice partner Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Citi Open

Washington: Top seed Taylor Fritz of the US defeated practice partner Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Citi Open to claim his 17th win from 20 matches on American soil this season.

The American, who has received a first-round Bye, will face former World No.1 Andy Murray in the third round. Fritz, stitched up the first set against 20-year-old Svajda with love breaks in the third and eighth games.

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The 25-year-old dug himself out of a 0/40 hold in the fifth game of the second set and claimed the decisive break three games later on Wednesday night. “Zach and I have trained together consistently for the past couple of years; I try to give him advice. He’s not someone you want to see on the other side of the court. I know what level he is capable of,” Fritz was quoted by the ATP Tour website.

Speaking about his third-round opponent, the American said: “It’s going to be a tough match against Andy, who is such an amazing competitor. The conditions are really, really slow so that will help him in the match a little bit,” he said.

Trying to work his way into contention to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals, Fritz has the opportunity to move inside the cut in eighth position in the ATP Live Race To Turin with a title this week.

In other action, French wild card Gael Monfils used his dazzling court speed to thwart the variety in Kazakh player Alexander Bublik’s bag of tricks to claim a 6-3, 6-4 win. “I knew I needed to be really fast and sharp on every ball. He can hit a lot of drop shots so I knew I had to be free with my feet. I am fast He might be able to hit two or three (I can’t get) but I know I will get most of them,” Monfils said.The 36-year-old will next meet Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.