Taylor Fritz was particularly pleased with something he did in his first round win at the Dallas Open.
Fritz struggled with a knee injury at the Australian Open, as he was knocked out of the tournament in the fourth round.
Despite not achieving the result he wanted in Melbourne, Fritz still climbed up the ATP rankings after the Australian Open.
After having a couple of weeks to recover, Fritz has provided a positive fitness update and he has also praised one shot in particular during his first round win at the Dallas Open against Marcos Giron.
Taylor Fritz highlights the shot he thinks he hit better than he has in years in Dallas
Fritz beat Giron, 6-4 5-7 7-6(1), in a big battle against his compatriot to win his first match since the Australian Open in Dallas.
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During this match, Fritz hit 21 aces past Giron and was only able to break his opponent twice throughout the whole match.
However, in his on-court interview Fritz claimed that the third set of his match against Giron was the best return set he has played in years, despite not breaking once.
“I know it sounds crazy because I didn’t break serve, but I think that whole third set is the best set of tennis I have returned,” said Fritz. “From a returning serve standpoint, that’s the best set I’ve played in years I think.”
In the third set, Fritz won 19 of the 51 points (37.3%) on Giron’s serve, but was particularly effective against the second serve, where he won eight of 12 points (66.7%).
Despite having four break points in this set, Fritz was unable to convert any of them and instead had to come through in a deciding tie-break.
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Taylor Fritz vs Brandon Nakashima Head-to-Head
After beating Giron, Fritz will now play another fellow American in his second round match at the Dallas Open.
This will be against Brandon Nakashima, who could pose a real threat to Fritz in his next match at the ATP 500 tournament.
Although Fritz leads the head-to-head against Nakashima 2-1, it is actually the world number 29 who has the most recent victory.
This came at the Cincinnati Open in 2024, when Nakashima beat Fritz, 6-4 4-6 7-6(4).
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2021 | Wimbledon | Fritz beat Nakashima, 7-5 3-6 6-4 7-5 |
| 2024 | Indian Wells | Fritz beat Nakashima, 6-3 6-4 |
| 2024 | Cincinnati Open | Nakashima beat Fritz, 6-4 4-6 7–6(4) |
Fritz will need his return to be firing once again, as Nakashima hit 11 aces in his first round win over Mattia Bellucci.
The second round match at the Dallas Open between Fritz and Nakashima will take place on Wednesday, February 11.
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