Fritz overcomes rain delays to reach third round of Shanghai Masters
World number seven Taylor Fritz advanced to the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Monday, finally completing his rain-interrupted match against France’s Terence Atmane. Fritz overcame the 161st-ranked Atmane 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5), after their clash was suspended two days earlier due to rain, with play resuming at 4-3 in the first set.
“I thought he played really well, and if I wasn’t on top of my game, I definitely could have lost that match,” Fritz said. “I just stayed with it and played solid in a lot of the big moments.”
Fritz will next face Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki in the third round.
World number 10 Grigor Dimitrov also wrapped up his delayed second-round match, defeating Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Dimitrov will face Australia’s Alexei Popyrin next. “It’s been very challenging the last couple of days,” Dimitrov admitted. “But we just have to make the most out of what we have.”
Meanwhile, American Frances Tiafoe ended local hopes by defeating China’s Zhou Yi 6-2, 6-4. Tiafoe praised Zhou’s effort, saying, “He played a good match… the second set was very tough.”
Tiafoe is set to meet Russian Roman Safiullin in the next round, who he described as a “super dark horse.”
Rain delays continue to disrupt the tournament schedule, with several matches delayed or rescheduled due to poor weather conditions.
(Source: AFP)