In a battle between two close friends, it was Taylor Fritz who emerged victorious in his round of 16 All-American clash against Jack Sock to advance to the quarterfinals of the Dallas Open.
Fritz was dominant on serve in his 7-6(5) 6-4 victory, hitting an impressive 10 aces past the former World No.8. Both men made little mistakes on serve in the first set, with Fritz winning a stunning 91% of points behind his first serve and Sock not being much far behind. With no breaks of serve, it was a tiebreak that decided the opener. Fritz's consistency paid off, allowing him to escape with the first set despite a solid performance from Sock.
The top seed was just as impressive on serve in the second set, losing just two points behind his first serve. Furthermore, he constantly applied pressure to his compatriot, before obtaining the crucial break and a 2-1 lead. This was enough for the World No.8, who held onto the break and closed out the match after an hour and 36 minutes.
Having faced and defeated Sock at this exact stage in last year's event, Fritz will square off against the winner between seventh-seeded compatriot Marcos Giron and German danger-man Oscar Otte in the quarterfinals.