Grixpur Surprises Fritz By Making It To The Finals In Washington

Dutch powerhouse Talon Grikspoor pulled from one set down to defeat top seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday night to claim his first top-10 win and reach the final of the City DC Interchange Open in Washington, DC.

Grigoryspor, who is chasing their third title this season and is at No. 25 in the Pepperstone ATP rankings, will face Daniel Evans for the title on Sunday after Briton defeated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the second semi-final of the tournament. Evening.

The 27-year-old, making his debut in the US capital, took a break in the second set and broke twice in the third against Fritz, who won 80 of his 82 serves before the match.

“First win in the top 10 is something I’m really looking forward to. To beat Taylor at home is very special,” said Grikspur.

“It was a great start for the American swing and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.

“This week, my labor is going really well; it’s picking up pace, day or night. I move really well and have a great body so there’s not much to complain about.

Griekspoor’s strike weight spoke for itself as he beat Fritz 40 winners to 30, including 13 aces. He also has 47 baseline points, down to just 34 for the Americans.

The Dutchman finished strongly, taking 20 of his last 27 points and winning five straight matches 1-2 in the deciding set.

If he wins the title, Griekspoor will move up to world number 21 on Monday, and will continue to build on his 27-match winning season, up 10 from his 2022 wins and titles in Pune and -Hertogenbosch.

“Winning two 250 matches, especially one at home, is something to dream about. Having played the semi-final of the 500 at home in Rotterdam and now the final here, everything is fine for this season. This. I have been working hard and am on the right track.

Evans exemplified patience and restraint in a major victory over Dimitrov, allowing the Bulgarian the kills with 30 unjustified faults.

Although Dimitrov trimmed Evans’ 24 winners to nine, the Englishman’s clean-cut performance with just 10 gratuitous errors speaks for itself.

The 33-year-old said he was proud of how he endured a grueling schedule the day before when he had to win in two sets, including a late night match against second seed Frances Tiafoe, when Dimitrov was dropping him after his elimination. . .

“It was tough after putting in a lot of effort yesterday. Coming back today, it was really important not to roll around and put in a poor performance,” Evans said.

“Over the past few months, this has happened. I’m really proud that I was able to do it today. There is one more thing to do.

“I was physically tired, although sleepy most of all because it was hard to sleep after such a late night. But we came to America early. We were in Bradenton regularly and my coach helped me get back in shape after a bad Wimbledon.

In those times it’s great to be confident in your body when you can play a couple of games and come back today.

Evans, who drew the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series 3-3 with Dimitrov, is the first Briton to reach the final in Washington since Andy Murray in 2006. He is looking for his second ATP Tour title to add to the 2021 Melbourne-2 tournament.