“I instantly got this really sharp pain in my elbow”: Taylor Fritz battles through injury, advance to semifinal vs Cilic

Taylor Fritz achieved an epic triumph in the quarterfinals of the Dallas Open, defeating his compatriot Sebastian Korda 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(5). The American No. 1 once again suffered physical issues in his elbow, but he overcame difficult moments to reach a new milestone in his career.

The first seed of the tournament has already guaranteed his place in the semifinals, where he will face former US Open champion Marin Cilic. This is the 40th time in Fritz’s career that he has reached an ATP-level semifinal, of which he has reached the final 19 times, completing a total of 10 titles in his career so far.

It is the second time this season that Fritz had to reach a third-set tiebreak to claim victory. He had previously suffered a similar challenge against Marcos Giron in the opening round, while the second-round match against Brandon Nakashima was more straightforward, winning in straight sets. This time, against Korda, for the first time he had to come back from a set down to secure the victory.

The American No. 1 even fell behind in the final tiebreak, where Korda reached 5-2—just two points from victory—before Fritz strung together five consecutive points to seal the win. Fritz expressed pride in a post-match interview with Tennis Channel.

“Just the way I handled those big moments in that match. He was constantly putting a lot of pressure on my serve. He was playing really well,” commented the former US Open runner-up. “Sometimes he’d pick the side on my first serve, and when he got the right side, he would just drill a return. He put me in a lot of tough situations, but every time I was down break point or in the tiebreaker on the big points, I came through and played great tennis.”

Towards the first set, Fritz experienced his first physical problems of the match. He has been managing some physical issues since the beginning of the year, which he already suffered during his participation in the United Cup. This time, Fritz was serving at 4-5 in the first set when he called the physiotherapist for the first time.

Fritz on the Injury: “It was my elbow. On a rifle return, I tried to turn and snap my elbow to hit a kind of flick pickup, a one-handed flick,” the world No. 7 said. “A lot of it was just how hard he hit it and how hard I snapped my elbow with the ball kind of behind me. I instantly got this really sharp pain in my elbow. I served one serve afterwards and luckily made it, but I knew after that serve I needed the physio. It was pretty bad.

“Then, randomly, one or two serves later, I just felt this sharp pain. I felt like I couldn’t even hold the racket after snapping the serve and feeling it. I had a couple of games where I was scared to really snap my serve because I knew that pain could make me instantly lose the point. Then I got some painkillers, started to feel better, and gradually trusted it. By the second set and full third, it wasn’t something I was even thinking of.”

Despite the early scare—which ultimately cost him the first-set tiebreak—Fritz managed to recover for the remainder of the match. The match lasted nearly two and a half hours, with Fritz delivering 22 aces compared to Korda’s 12, while achieving a 74% first-serve success rate and winning 80% of them. Korda could not capitalize on any of his four break-point opportunities during the match, and everything was ultimately decided in the third-set tiebreak.

Fritz initially fell behind in the mini-break, giving Korda a 5-2 lead. Shortly after—while defending his serve—Korda had a chance at 5-4 with two consecutive serves on his side that could have closed the match. However, two mini-breaks from the American No. 1 showcased his composure and hierarchy in the most complicated moment.

“I was thinking I’m going to really commit to the return, be explosive, go after it. I got very fortunate with a second serve at 4-5. Once I won that point, I knew all the pressure was on him. It’s tough serving at 5-4, looking at two match points. Then it’s 5-5 serving. If you lose that point, suddenly I’m serving match point. Once I won the first point, I just wanted to put balls in the court.”

On Saturday, Fritz will have to return to the court, and it remains to be seen if he will be at 100% physically for the next duel. He will face the historic Marin Cilic, who has had a dream campaign in Dallas to reach the semifinals. The Croatian reached 600 ATP-level victories this week (now 602 after defeating Pinnington Jones) and will seek the 38th final of his career—the first since the Hangzhou Open 2024.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he’s having a good week. Very good serving conditions, the ball stays low," commented the world No. 7. "I haven’t watched him, but I’m sure he’s serving lights out and ripping the ball from the baseline. I think both of us are going to try to do the same thing, and it will come down to who does it better.”

So far, Fritz and Cilic have faced each other three times, with two wins for the American and one for the European. However, their last clash was back in 2022 on clay courts in Monte-Carlo, while the last time they met on hardcourt, the win went to Cilic 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 in the final of St. Petersburg 2021.