WATCH: Shintaro Mochizuki stuns defending champ Taylor Fritz with a stunning overhead passing shot as he dumps the American out of the Japan Open 

Shintaro beat Taylor Fritz in a highly electrifying match to qualify for the quarterfinals.

WATCH: Shintaro Mochizuki stuns defending champ Taylor Fritz with a stunning overhead passing shot as he dumps the American out of the Japan Open 

Taylor Fritz lost to Shintaro (Via New Straight TImes)

The 2023 Japan Open is underway with its round of 16 matches, and there have already been a few major upsets in the tournament. The fans in Japan witnessed one of the major upsets recently as No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz was overthrown by Japan’s wildcard entry Shintaro Mochizuki in a 3-set thriller that had the fans on the edge of their seats.

Taylor Fritz took a dominating lead in the first set, not allowing the Japanese to get a game; however, the second set went in the name of the homeboy. The third and final set was what made the game very interesting. At one point, Fritz was dominating with his attacking shots, but the Japanese played a phenomenal running shot that grabbed the attention of the fans.

YouTube video

Both the players went back and forth with the points and the Japanese just played better to cause a major upset in the tournament. The final score was 0-6, 4-6, 7-6(2). The Japan Open witnessed one of its biggest upsets of the season and doors are wide open for anyone to win the tournament this year. 

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Related: ATP Japan Open 2023: Ben Shelton vs. Tommy Paul Live Stream, Match Timings, Prediction and Preview

The 2023 Japan Open results

The 2023 Japan Open has been a good season so far, with many players running through the tournament. The Round of 16 is almost at its end, and quarterfinal draws have been released.

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz (Via ESPN)

Two American friends, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, face off against each other in a highly anticipated match. Karatsev is also set to face Alex De Minaur in another match to entertain the fans. With that being said, four exciting quarter-final matches are scheduled, and only the more deserving player will move forward to win the tournament. 

However, the women’s leg of the tournament already ended at the start of October, when American Jessica Pegula faced off against Veronika Kudermetova, whom she lost in two consecutive sets after a brilliant tournament.

However, Pegula went on to win the Korea Open. Mochizuki was extremely delighted to beat Taylor Fritz and expressed his happiness by thanking his fans for their support and asking them to continue cheering for him throughout the tournament. He is the only Japanese player this year to enter the quarterfinals as he gears up to face Alexei Popyrin. 

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