Following his three-hour win against Andy Murray earlier on Friday, Taylor Fritz defeated Jordan Thompson in less than half that time to advance to the semi-finals at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

The top-seeded American earned a 6-3, 6-3 victory to extend his winning streak to seven matches, all on home soil, beginning with his Atlanta title run last week. He will face 12th seed Tallon Griekspoor on Saturday, after the Dutchman beat both Gael Monfils and J.J. Wolf on Friday, having split sets against Monfils before rain halted play Thursday evening.

“I’ve put in a lot of work the last couple of weeks before coming here. I knew that this is one of the most physically demanding parts of the season, playing in the heat,” Fritz said post-match. “I definitely wasn’t training and preparing to play two matches in a day, especially one following a three-hour match. 

“I came out tonight in the second match playing really well, being aggressive. I got early breaks in both sets, which was kind of my strategy, to kind of give it everything I had early, get up a break, and then I could coast a bit and focus on my serve games.”

Fritz saved the only two break points he faced against Thompson, both at 3-1 in the opening set. He has now saved 18 of 19 break points on the week after erasing eight from eight in the opening round against American qualifier Zachary Svajda and eight of nine against Murray.

Against Thompson, the World No. 9 broke in his first return game of both sets, then sealed the match with a third break in the final game.

If Fritz defeats Griekspoor on Saturday, he will move ahead of Casper Ruud into the all-important eighth spot in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

“The main thing is just making sure my body is going to be feeling good,” Fritz said, looking ahead to the pair’s second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. “It feels good now, but after all the tennis and all the playing, who knows how I’m going to wake up feeling tomorrow. I just have to take care of myself.”

In the bottom half of the D.C. draw, Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the semis via walkover against Ugo Humbert, who pulled out with a left leg injury. The fifth-seeded Bulgarian will meet ninth seed Daniel Evans on Saturday after the Briton followed his afternoon win against Alexander Shevckenko with an upset of local favourite Frances Tiafoe.

Evans defeated the second-seeded American to close the day’s play, improving upon his quarter-final run last year at the ATP 500. The World No. 30 played brilliant, attacking tennis down the stretch to win the last three games, overcoming 16 aces from Tiafoe.

The Briton broke serve in the opening game of both sets to set the tone in hostile territory. While the D.C. crowd helped will Maryland native Tiafoe to a 4-3 lead in set two, Evans recovered with two love holds before securing the decisive break. He saved four of five break points in the match, including one with a big serve as he served out the match.

Taylor Fritz extended his winning streak to six matches on the American hard courts with a comeback win against Andy Murray on Friday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. In a match that was postponed from Thursday evening by rain, the Atlanta champion earned a 6-7,(2), 6-3, 6-4 victory after three hours of action on the stadium court.

Fritz escaped 0/40 in the final game, holding his nerve in several rallies to make good on his break in the previous game. A full-stretch, airborne volley winner brought up his third match point, which he took with a forehand winner.

“I feel like when I’m down those break points, sometimes the opponent might feel some added pressure to it,” Fritz said post-match. “Lately I feel like I’ve been playing those big points even better and just having clarity of knowing what shots I want to hit. It’s been feeling great because that’s not always the case, so I’m really happy with how I’ve been playing these big points.”

High on quality and excitement, the pair’s second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting proved to be worth the wait, with Fritz’s win improving him to 2-0 in their series. The American will not have to wait long for his next match: He will return to the court Friday evening to take on Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals — his 11th tour-level quarter-final of the season.

By becoming the fourth player to notch 40 wins this season (40-16), Fritz denied Murray what would have been his first Top 10 win since he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas last June in Stuttgart.

After saving eight break points in his opening win against Zachary Svajda, Fritz saved eight of nine against Murray, including three as he served out the match. The American twice rallied from 0/40 in the second set against Svajda on Wednesday. Prior to D.C., Fritz held serve just once in 13 times facing 0/40 this season.

Fritz hit 17 aces against Murray and on 77 per cent of his first-serve points, but he could not rely solely on power in the slow and humid D.C. conditions.

“I had to come to net, I had to drop shot, and I had to just move the ball way more,” Fritz said. “I can’t just run around and pull the trigger on one ball and hit a winner like I’m used to. A lot of times you take the chance to be aggressive and it doesn’t really accomplish anything, you kind off just have to re-set the point.”

Earlier on Friday, Thompson earned his quarter-final place with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Christopher Eubanks, a match that began on Thursday evening before the rain. In the resumption of another suspended match, 12th seed Tallon Griekspoor earned a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 result against Gael Monfils.

Ninth seed Daniel Evans also advanced to the quarters with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Alexander Shevchenko. He will next face Frances Tiafoe, whose 6-2, 6-3 victory against Chinese qualifier Shang Juncheng completed the Round of 16 action.

The second-seeded Tiafoe saved all four break points against him to reach his sixth tour-level quarter-final of the season. Now 6-6 at his home event, the native of nearby Maryland is through to that stage for the second straight year in D.C.

The 25-year-old will be pleased with his efficiency in the one-hour, 12-minute victory, as he is set to play again on the stadium court Friday evening against Evans.

Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Holger Rune were all drawn in the top half of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers draw Friday.

Wimbledon champion Alcaraz, who is looking for his first match win at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada in his second appearance, could add another chapter in his budding rivalry with Rune in the quarter-finals, the same round that Tsitsipas may meet seventh seed Jannik Sinner.

Boasting a season-leading 47-4 match record, the World No. 1 Alcaraz will open against #NextGenATP star Ben Shelton or countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

In the bottom half of the draw, Daniil Medvedev, who triumphed in Toronto in 2021, is seeded to meet Taylor Fritz for just the second time in the last eight. Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud could clash in the quarters.

Gael Monfils and Christopher Eubanks will light up Toronto with their shotmaking during an exciting first-round clash, the winner earning a second-round contest against Tsitsipas. Playing in Canada for the fifth time, Tsitsipas is aiming to go one step further than his run to the 2018 final and capture his first ATP Masters 1000 crown away from Monte-Carlo.

In other opening-round action, 15th seed Hubert Hurkacz, who was a finalist last year in Canada, will open against Alexander Bublik and 11th seed Cameron Norrie drew World No. 19 Alex de Minaur.

10th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will look for a season turnaround on home soil, where he starts against a qualifier and should he advance, he will face Lorenzo Sonego or three-time major champion Andy Murray.

Former World No. 3 Milos Raonic will make his first appearance at the Canadian Masters since 2019. Playing in just his third tournament since returning from injury in June, the 32-year-old Raonic will play ninth seed Frances Tiafoe in the opening round.

Potential second-round matches include an all-Italian battle between Sinner and Matteo Berrettini and a third tour-level meeting between Britons Norrie and Daniel Evans.

In vintage form, Dominic Thiem saved five match points Friday to oust fifth seed Laslo Djere 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(8) at the Generali Open and reach his first tour-level final since the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals.

The former World No. 3 thrilled the home crowd with fearless backhand winners and held his nerve on serve throughout the thrilling three-hour, 30-minute battle. Thiem was unbroken, fending off all 12 break points faced to survive his third consecutive match from a set down. The Austrian saved a trio of match points on serve at 5-6 in the third set and another two in the decisive tie-break.

“I don’t know if I can still produce some good words,” Thiem said in disbelief post match. “It was probably the longest best of three match I’ve ever played in my life, including when I was a kid. I think even then I didn’t play that long for a best of three match.

“It was a very tough and intense match. So close every set, every single game. I knew it straight from the beginning that it would be so close, first three or four games were 20, 25 minutes. It was just an incredible atmosphere again.”

Should Thiem win his 17th tour-level crown, it would mark his first trophy at any level since the 2020 US Open. He will next meet Sebastian Baez in the final, where he will look to avenge last year’s Bastad loss to the Argentine.

Thiem lost nine of his first 10 matches in 2023, and came into this tournament No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He was 6-5 during the clay swing through Roland Garros but went winless during the grass swing, which included a valiant fifth-set tie-break loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of Wimbledon.

Suffering a tear in his right wrist that forced him to miss nine months from June 2021-March 2022, Thiem is looking for his second title in Kitzbühel (2019).

“It’s very special today, my first final on the tour since my wrist injury. I couldn’t be happier that it’s here in Austria at home,” Thiem said.

The 29-year-old is up to No. 89 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and could crack the Top 80 if he wins Saturday’s championship match.

Mackenzie McDonald and Ben Shelton mounted a comeback Friday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, saving two match points to reach the Washington final.

The Americans ousted third seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara 3-6, 6-3, 12-10 after one hour, 17 minutes. The British-Finnish pair held a 9/7 lead in the Match Tie-break before McDonald and Shelton tallied five of the next six points to advance. Glasspool will rue letting slip a match point by double faulting.

McDonald and Shelton, who are teaming for the fourth time this season, won 61 per cent of their second-serve points, compared to their opponent’s 45 per cent. The wild cards will next face Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen or Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the ATP 500 final.

🎶 It’s a party in the USA 🎶@mackiemacster & @BenShelton reach the doubles final, saving 2 match points to defeat Glasspool/Heliovaara 3-6, 6-3, 12-10! A maiden ATP final for Shelton 👏#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/KZYW8YYtOY

— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) August 4, 2023

Home Hopes Advance In Kitzbühel
Top seeds Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler pulled double duty Friday to reach the final at the Generali Open. The Austrians started the rain-hindered day by defeating Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek 7-6(9), 6-4 in the quarter-finals before moving past third seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 7-5, 7-6(13) in the last four, where Erler and Miedler avoided a Match Tie-break by saving six set points to close the match in straights.

Erler and Miedler, who won in Kitzbühel in 2021, will meet Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the final after the Colombian-Kazakh team rallied past Francisco Cabral and Rafael Matos 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Aiming for their fifth tour-level team title, Erler and Miedler will be part of an all-Austrian championship Saturday, when Dominic Thiem competes for the singles title before the top doubles seeds take court.

Casper Ruud’s first time attending a Major League Baseball game was a memorable experience. In Canada gearing up for next week’s National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, the 24-year-old Ruud threw the ceremonial first pitch Thursday at the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles game.

“It’s my first ever live baseball game, so I’m really excited,” Ruud said in a social media post produced by the Blue Jays. “I’m a bit nervous and hopefully I can throw a good pitch.”

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If Ruud was nervous, there no were signs of it as he delivered a fastball over the plate, with Blue Jays player Erik Swanson catching the pitch.

The Netflix Break Point star Ruud is making his third appearance at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Currently eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, Ruud is aiming to return to the Nitto ATP Finals, where he was a finalist last year. The 10-time tour-level titlist was a semi-finalist in Canada last year and will look for another deep run to put more distance between him and other Turin hopefuls.

🎾⚾️👊 https://t.co/JIXaNg9hxA

— Casper Ruud (@CasperRuud98) August 3, 2023

Sebastian Baez prevailed in a bruising all-Argentine semi-final battle Friday on the clay of Kitzbühel, where the World No. 72 overcame top seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 at the Generali Open.

Baez held his nerve in a two-hour, 41-minute encounter of fine margins at the Austrian ATP 250, converting three of five break points he earned to reach his fifth tour-level championship match. Despite a difficult start to the second set that saw him drop four games in a row to the World No. 34 Etcheverry, Baez rediscovered his rhythm in time to claim the decider via a break to love in the ninth game.

“It’s always difficult to play with a friend,” said Baez. “We’ve known each other all my tennis life, so I know him, I know he’s a very good player who has had a big year. Congrats to him for this semi-final and for this year, but I tried to fight every time and every point.”

The FINAL is set 🏆@sebaabaez7 vs. @domithiem

Saturday at the #GeneraliOpen! pic.twitter.com/ADa2BLGedK

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 4, 2023

Baez improved his season record to 20-19 with Friday’s victory. The 22-year-old arrived in Kitzbühel with one win in his previous five tournaments, but has dropped just one set en route to the final on his debut in the Austrian Alps.

“I’m very happy, because the last weeks I didn’t have big results, so happy to be in the final,” said Baez, who lifted ATP 250 crowns on clay in Estoril in 2022 and Cordoba earlier this year. “It will be tough for sure. Now I will just focus on the recovery, and we will see.”

The Buenos Aires native will take on Dominic Thiem in Saturday’s championship match after the Austrian saved five match points to beat Laslo Djere 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(8). Baez leads Thiem 1-0 in their Lexus ATPHead2Head series.

Baez had lost only one of his five previous ATP Tour semi-finals — to Etcheverry in Santiago in February — and he now leads his countryman 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. He is set to return to the Top 50 as a result of his run in the Alps, having already risen 25 spots to No. 47 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings with his charge to the final.

Coming from a family with a motorsports background, Mark Lajal was likely set to follow the same path. But life had something else in the cards for the 20-year-old Estonian who won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in June.

At a career-high No. 224 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Lajal spent his early years with his hands on handlebars before he ever picked up a racquet.

“I wasn’t really supposed to be a tennis player. I come from a family in motorsports,” Lajal told ATPTour.com. “My dad was a motocross racer and my grandpa was a rally driver. I come from a very sporting family, but a very extreme sporting family. When I was younger, from like three years old, I started racing motorcycles. I raced them until I was eight or nine years old.”

With a unique background detached from tennis, it begs the question: How did Lajal first start playing the sport in which he is now a professional?

“When I was six years old, my dad went on a road trip with his motorcycle… I was with my mom in the summer and my mom didn’t want to take me to motocross races because she didn’t like it, so she put me into tennis,” Lajal said. “So I started playing tennis on the side and I liked it obviously. When I was nine, I chose tennis over motocross and now I’m here.”

Lajal stated that he still has an interest in motorsports, most notably Formula One. His upbringing is not the only thing that sets Lajal’s story apart from others. What may also catch fans off guard is his distinct dreadlocks.

“I’ve had them for a very long time. I think now it’s been like 12, 13 years,” Lajal said. “It has kind of become a big part of me and my image. A lot of people know me just from my dreads. I enjoy it and I think it’s cool.

“The real reason why I did it was because my older sister she did them and I saw them and I was so fascinated. I was like, ‘Mom, I want to do it!’ She was like, ‘Do it, it’s your hair, whatever happens, happens’. So I did them and I loved them, so I kept them.”

Mark Lajal at the 2023 Little Rock Challenger.” />
^{Credit: Nelson Chenault}

Making a rapid rise on the ATP Challenger Tour, Lajal said he is inspired by fellow Estonians Anett Kontaveit, Kaia Kanepi and Jurgen Zopp, stating, “They have showed me everything is possible coming from a small tennis country.”

The Tallinn-native Lajal has competed in less than a dozen Challenger events, triumphing in June in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was competing in just his sixth outing at that level.

“It felt really good. It kind of gave me reassurance when I won it because it showed me that I have the level to beat some really good guys and get some good matches in,” Lajal said. “It gave me a lot of confidence. I was really happy after that win.”

Still early in his young career, Lajal has always dreamed big since he first began playing tennis.

“My mom remembers me telling her at age seven or eight, ‘I’m going to win the US Open!’” Lajal said. “When I was really young I had the passion and when I started playing tournaments, that’s when I wanted to be a professional tennis player.”

Mark Lajal claims his maiden ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Little Rock, Arkansas.” />
^{Mark Lajal wins the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Little Rock, Arkansas. Credit: Nelson Chenault}