Taylor Fritz moved into the quarterfinals of the Rolex Paris Masters with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Arthur Fils on Thursday night, but all the attention at the Plenitude Arena belonged to one moment in the opening set that had nothing to do with the score.
The American’s accidentally struck a ball girl who was standing along the sideline directly in the face with his serve. Visibly shaken, the young girl burst into tears, prompting Fils to cross the court to check on her condition before gently escorting her off the court.
Thanks for the submission!
According to reports, Fritz also checked to see if she was all right. Neither the tournament nor the ATP has issued a public update on her condition. Fils had every reason to be thinking about his own evening. He was broken for 4-2 in the first set and again early in the second, and never generated a break point of his own.
There was hardly anything Fils could do about the tennis. Fritz, 29, faced no break points across the 71 minutes and blasted 14 aces compared to Fils’s six. The American finished with 29 winners to Fils’s 15 and won 41 of his 51 service points, including 11 of 12 behind his second serve, which kept the Frenchman on the back foot.
Fils offered little resistance, saving two break points in the opening game of the second set to hold. However, Fritz broke through his defense in his next service game and never looked back.
“I was returning really well and serving really well. That kind of takes care of itself when I am serving well and playing aggressively. It was fast conditions, and it really enabled me when I stepped in and went for the shots,” Taylor Fritz said afterward (via ATP).
The victory was Taylor Fritz‘s 100th at the Masters 1000 level and his tour-leading 13th indoors this season. It also sent Luca Van Assche, who beat Lorenzo Musetti earlier on Thursday, through as the last Frenchman in the singles draw.
Taylor Fritz excited to take on Carlos Alcaraz in quarterfinals
Next for Taylor Fritz is second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who reached the last eight without playing after Matteo Berrettini withdrew from their third-round match with an arm injury. The Spaniard, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, is chasing a first semifinal in Paris and holds a 6-1 lead in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series.
“I am excited for it,” Taylor Fritz said about facing Alcaraz on Friday. “Excited for the opportunity. That’s why I have gotten to this point in the tournament. I knew I was probably gonna have to go through him if I wanted to [have the chance] to make Turin. So, I’m ready to play.”
The stakes are straightforward. Taylor Fritz sits 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 184 points behind ninth-placed Spanish teenager Rafael Jódar. With two spots still open for the year-ending showpiece event, a win over Alcaraz would move him past Jódar.
On the other hand, a defeat will shatter his qualification hopes for this year. Fils, meanwhile, who punched his ticket to Turin earlier this week, will have a week to rest after a flat night in front of his home crowd.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh
