Taylor FRITZ dominates All-American showdown, secures back-to-back Delray Beach title defeating Tommy PAUL

ATP
Monday, 19 February 2024 at 20:21
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Taylor Fritz lived up to the favoritism against his compatriot Tommy Paul (No. 14) with a 6-2, 6-3 victory, securing the Delray Beach Open trophy for the second consecutive time. The two-time champion of the tournament balanced the head-to-head record to 3-2 and avenged their last encounter, which Paul won in a third-set tie-break one year ago at the Acapulco Open.
In the semifinals, four local players competed, with Fritz defeating Marcos Giron in straight sets, and Paul doing the same against Frances Tiafoe. Despite the final appearing evenly matched, Fritz demonstrated much more consistency in the match and emerged as a deserving winner in Delray Beach.
It was anticipated that one of the keys to the match for both players would be showcasing their best serving, considering that both rarely concede breaks to their opponents. Paul didn't even allow a break opportunity in the semifinals against Tiafoe.
In the first set, both players showed nervousness from the first serve. Fritz had only a 45% first-serve percentage, although he won 80% of them and 75% with the second serve. Paul's numbers were particularly deficient for a player of his caliber, hitting only 37% of his first serves, winning 60% of them, and only 47% with the second serve.
The first break opportunity came in the fourth game, which Fritz capitalized on to take a 3-1 lead. With the score 4-2 in favor of Fritz, he faced 0-40 and conceded three break points, but he saved each one of them. After the missed opportunities, Paul once again struggled with his serve, conceding a new opportunity that Fritz quickly seized to take a 6-2 lead.
Although both had their chances, mainly due to errors from the opponent's serve, Fritz was more effective in crucial points. The second set remained close in the early games, and the first break opportunities came in favor of Paul in the fifth game, but once again, he was unable to capitalize on them.
The most contested game was the seventh with Fritz serving, involving 22 points, where he eventually held his serve. In the following game, Paul couldn't hold on in the match, and Fritz took his third break opportunity to secure the decisive lead at 5-3. He ultimately closed out the set 6-3 to retain the title for the second consecutive time with a convincing 6-2, 6-3 victory.

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