Clutch Fritz Outdoes Isner In Auckland

American Taylor Fritz is No. 50 in the ATP Rankings, but when it comes to playing his best in tie-breaks, he’s Top 5.

The 21-year-old exhibited his big-point prowess again on Wednesday, upsetting top seed and No. 10 John Isner 7-6(3), 7-6(5) at the ASB Classic for his second Top 10 win.

“I like to think that one of the strengths of my game is playing under pressure and playing the big moments well. More often than not, the matches I lose, that’s where I get let down. So I’m happy to start the year… playing well under pressure and handling those big moments well,” Fritz said.

The 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier was 0-2 against Isner in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and had won only one of their five sets. But Fritz didn’t let that or Isner’s rising ace count – 26 for the match – bother him. He played calm and clean in the tie-breaks, converting his second match point when Isner lifted a backhand long.

“John’s beaten me twice before… I really wanted to get the win on him. I knew I could. We had a lot of close points, and it just feels really good to get through that,” he said.

Fritz won 70 per cent (21-9) of the tie-breaks he played in 2018, third on the ATP Tour, according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, behind only reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev (74%, 17-6) and Brisbane International champion Kei Nishikori (77%, 17-5).

Fritz will face Brit wild card Cameron Norrie or Portugal’s Joao Sousa for a spot in the semi-finals. Fritz’s countryman Tennys Sandgren also reached the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Sandgren, who made the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last year, upset third seed Marco Cecchinato of Italy 6-3, 6-3 and awaits the winner of Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer and Italian Matteo Berrettini.