Taylor Fritz reached the Miami Open semi-finals and played one of the shots of the tournament in the process.
The American number one has produced his best run of the season in Florida, and he is now one match away from making the championship match.
The 27-year-old has quietly made his way through the tournament, but he faced his tightest test in the quarter-finals.
He took on the resurgent Matteo Berrettini, and the pair produced a compelling three-set encounter and it was one of the matches of the Miami Open so far.
Taylor Fritz reacts to ‘crazy’ shot he played at the Miami Open
Fritz was pushed to the limit by Berrettini, who was trying to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final since the 2019 Shanghai Masters.
Taylor Fritz let six match points slip before he closed out a 7-5, 6-7(7), 7-5 victory after two-hours and 44 minutes. One of the top highlights of the match came while Fritz was leading 5-4 in the second set.
As Berrettini served to stay in the second set, he fired a first serve at 127mph, which he took on the half volley and used his backhand to a scorching cross court return winner.
The Italian could get nowhere near the ball as it flew past him, and even Fritz was surprised by how well he played the shot. On X he wrote: “Ya this one was crazy,” alongside a laughing emoji.
Who will Taylor Fritz play next?
Fritz maintained his unbeaten record against Berrettini and has now advanced to his first Miami Open semi-final.
He is on a mission to try and claim the second Masters 1000 title of his career to add to his 2022 Indian Wells triumph. But he will have to defeat Jakub Mensik in order to reach Sunday’s final.
After booking spot in the last four, Fritz said during his on court interview: “It was tough. I kept trying to tell myself that he played well and it’s not as much on me, so try not to get frustrated.
“I think my best looks there I had three match points seeing a second serve from him. I think I really have to win one of those.
“I can’t be too frustrated with the 6/5 point, I honestly hit a really, really good serve and he full-commit leaned there. If I would’ve gone 110 mph wide, I probably would’ve aced him.
“He committed hard for the return and he crushed it. I got to give it to him, he raised his level a lot. “There’s two options. Get frustrated, lose, and then be even more frustrated about all the chances I blew, or regroup and get the win. Now I can sleep tonight and not be so mad at the chances I blew.”
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