“Gone are the days when top 10 were real top 10” – Taylor Fritz chokes twice on match points as Alexander Shevchenko wins a marathon match in Basel earning the American wrath of fans

Shevchenko saved all the 15 break points he faced, including two match points, against Fritz in the second round of Swiss Indoors.

“Gone are the days when top 10 were real top 10” – Taylor Fritz chokes twice on match points as Alexander Shevchenko wins a marathon match in Basel earning the American wrath of fans

Taylor Fritz (Image via : AP Photos)

Third seed Taylor Fritz missed out on two match point opportunities as he was knocked out of the Swiss Indoors by Russian Pro Alexander Shevchenko. The World No. 83 defeated the American 6-7(7), 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in 2 hours and 53 minutes to win the Round of 16 clash in Basel, on Thursday.

The Russian kept his nerves in crucial moments, saving all of the 15 break points he faced, to get the biggest win of his career so far. The defeat will especially be pinching for Fritz as he won 10 more points than his opponents while hitting 61 winners and 21 unforced errors.

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The American No.1 made an impressive comeback in the first set tiebreak as he came back from 1-6 down, saving 5 consecutive set points, to take the set. Fritz failed to capitalize on the missed opportunities by his competitors to improve his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals. The World no.9 is ninth in the race to qualify for year-end championships.

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Shevchenko, who is at a career-high No. 83 in the ATP Live Rankings, will next meet Botic Van de Zandschulp or sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-final of Swiss Indoors on Friday. The Russian is competing to win his first ATP tour-level title in Basel. The 22-year-old came through the qualifiers and defeated 3-time Grand Slam singles champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round of the tournament.

Tennis fans on social media lash out at Taylor Fritz after he misses out on match point opportunities in the round of 16 clash

Fans on social media lashed out at World No.9 Taylor Fritz for showing a lack of experience in the last 2 sets as he missed out on two chances to close out the match against the young and inexperienced Russian. One of the fans criticized the American’s showing despite him being in the top 10 rankings for over a year now.

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz with the Indian Wells trophy (2022) (Image via Guardian)

Some fans lashed out at Fritz for failing to capitalize in matches against weaker opponents. One user said that at this point, beating a 6-year-old is more difficult than beating Taylor Fritz.

Sharing a wide variety of reactions here’s what fans had to say on social media site ‘X’ :-

Next up, Fritz will play at the Paris Masters, starting 30 October. The World No.9 has enjoyed a fairly successful season so far, winning two titles. At the Delray Beach Open, the American won his 5th ATP Tour-level title and subsequently reached his highest career ranking of No.5. The 25-year-old has an impressive win-loss record of 53-23 this year.

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