Japan Open: Taylor Fritz battles past Canadian star to set up All-American clash with Frances Tiafoe

He quarantined for a week and arrived in Tokyo on time to make the best out of the tournament. Against Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the semi-final, he was 1-3 down in the third set, but the final score read 6-3 6-7 6-3 as he won five straight sets to pocket the match.

"It's pretty amazing what I've been able to accomplish this week," shared Fritz, who received a walkover at the quarter-final due to Kyrgios' walking out. 

Fritz saved a break point in his opening service game and, in the second, broke his opponent for 3-2. The Canadian pushed the set into a tiebreak and charged ahead after the score equalised 4-4.

Shapovalov cruised at the same speed in set three, but Fritz resisted. The American won his previous three matches in three sets, including the ones against James Duckworth and Japan's Hiroki Moriya. 

Fritz was battling Covid-19 the week before, and upon landing in Tokyo, he had to adjust to the "extremely fast" conditions on the stadium court. 

"I think the biggest struggle for me this week has been the court speed," he shared. "I felt like that made a really big difference with my confidence and my feel hitting the ball." 

Fritz has set up the first all-American final in Tokyo since Pete Sampras' victory against Richey Renenerg in 1996, considered the fourth straight all-U.S. final at the tournament.

Fritz has a 4-1 ATP Head2Head series lead against his Laver Cup Frances Tiafoe.

Frances Tiafoe enters the Tokyo final

Frances Tiafoe scripted another win over a successful few weeks by beating South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo 6-2 0-6 6-4, and now the American will encounter compatriot Taylor Fritz at the Japan Open on Saturday.

Tiafoe became a semi-finalist at the US Open this year, and the Tokyo final would be his second title decider of the season. The 24-year-old was aware of his unlikely performance in the second set.

"It was a weird match, but happy to get through," he shared. "In these kinds of matches, it's not always gonna be pretty, it's not always gonna be your best stuff, but a win is what matters."

Kwon's best effort wasn't enough to beat Tiafoe's skill enabling him to win five straight games before he took the opening set 6-2. Interestingly, the South Korean completely overpowered him in the second one. 

Fourth-seeded Tiafoe revved up his game in the third set with two break points and served for the match at 5-2. He stumbled a few points away from victory but seized the win the second time. 

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