Top seed Taylor Fritz moves to 7-6 in the H2H against Norrie, beating the Brit 6-4, 6-3! Tough first round matchup for both men in Tokyo.
Taylor Fritz downs Cameron Norrie in strong start to title defense at ATP Japan Open in Tokyo
ATPTuesday, 17 October 2023 at 09:24
Taylor Fritz defeated Cameron Norrie in a strong start to his bid to defend his title at the ATP 500 Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Tokyo, winning the match 6-4, 6-3.
The World No. 8 took to the court in the Ariake Coliseum for the first time since he defeated Frances Tiafoe to take the title last year. However, he had a tough first-round opponent this time around in the form of World No. 18 Norrie.
Prior to the match, the two players had faced each other twelve times in the past, with their head-to-head level at 6-6. Now, Fritz has successfully shifted this to a 7-6 lead.
Fritz fights back for straight-sets win
The American looked to be playing well from the beginning, holding his first service game W-0 while his opponent's first two service games went to a deuce.
Nevertheless, the set stayed on serve until Fritz's third service game, when Norrie built up two break points. Although it then went to another deuce, the Brit was able to convert a third break point to briefly get ahead.
However, Fritz showed resilience and it wasn't long before he broke back to level the set at 4-4. He proceeded to look very comfortable on serve, achieving his third W-0 hold of the match before amassing three crucial set points at 5-4, converting the second to take the first set.
The second set was much more straightforward for Fritz, as he broke Norrie in his first service game. The 25-year-old then successfully held without too much trouble from his opponent until he could serve for the set, winning the final game 40-15.
He will face the winner of the match between Japanese wildcard Shintaro Mochizuki and Argentinian player Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the next round.
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