Fritz moves past Cilic into Dallas final, will face Shelton in All-American final – Tennis Now
Top seed Taylor Fritz defeated 37-year-old Marin Cilic 7-6(5) 7-6(3) at the Dallas Open on Saturday afternoon to advance to the All-American finals with Ben Shelton.
Fritz, a native of Southern California, reached the ATP final for the 20th time. The first time was in Dallas, and the second time was in the tournament (Fritz reached the final in Memphis in 2016).
The seventh-ranked American showed no ill effects from an elbow injury in Friday’s quarterfinal win over Sebastian Korda, blasting 22 aces to beat Cilic.
“A very calm serve. I think when I feel calm and relaxed, that’s the most important thing, I serve well,” Fritz said after winning for the third time in four matches against the 2014 U.S. Open champion and former world No. 3.
Fritz never faced a break point, but Cilic held on, saving all five break points he faced to force a tiebreak in both sets.
It was there that the American showed his steel.
Fritz broke for a 3-0 lead in the first set and took the lead on the third set point and never trailed.
He fell behind briefly in the second set, but not for long.
The 28-year-old improves to 8-4 on the season and will face Shelton for the third time in Sunday’s final. Shelton defeated defending champion Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach his sixth ATP final and second indoor final.
Sheldon, 23, met with Fritz twice.
Shelton saved 10 of 11 break points against the Canadian and improved to 9-2 against Shapovalov on the season and 4-0 overall.
“Just compete, find your way in the big moments, believe in yourself, play with belief,” Shelton said after the win. “I was just scrappy, it was a gritty win and a lot of credit goes to Dennis – he was in a very difficult position on the pitch [to deal with]. Serve, backhand, forehand, volley, it’s like a freight train coming towards you.
“I’m happy to get out of this. It was definitely a win by the biggest margin, but I’m not quite sure how I got out of this.”
