Online Reporter
Taylor Fritz clinched his 11th ATP Tour title and first above ATP 250 level in nearly four years on Monday at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, where he defeated first-time ATP 500 finalist Rafael Jodar 7-6(2), 6-4.
After rain had delayed the final from Sunday, Fritz and Jodar both dominated on serve in the first set before the American found greater depth on return in the first-set tie-break to draw errors from Jodar and lead.
The third seed then kept his foot on the gas at the start of the second set to race 3-0 ahead.
Fritz found greater depth on his groundstrokes in the second set, striking with authority whenever Jodar offered even the slightest opening to become just the second American to lift the Washington trophy since 2008, joining 2024 champion Sebastian Korda
In a dramatic final game, Fritz saved one break point and eventually claimed victory on his fifth match point after one hour and 49 minutes.
The American, who was bent over between points in the last game, collapsed to the ground after triumphing, before he returned to his feet to embrace the home crowd.
“Thank you guys for everything,” Fritz said to his team during the trophy ceremony. “I have given this speech a lot recently but not as a winner, so it is nice to actually mean it a little bit more this time. Thank you so much for everything you do, staying on top of me all the time. I know it is not easy.”
Competing in a Tour-leading third ATP 500 final of the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Fritz was determined to end the week on top after runner-up finishes in Dallas, Halle and at the ATP 250 event in Stuttgart earlier this year.
Fritz arrived in Washington having not competed since his quarter-final exit to Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon. The 28-year-old earned comfortable wins against Zizou Bergs and Kamil Majchrzak to reach the quarter-finals, before he saved a match point in a battling win against Alex Michelsen. Fritz then moved beyond Brandon Nakashima in three sets to book his place in the final, where he delivered another hard-fought performance to fend off Jodar. – SuperSport.
