Taylor Fritz overcomes Alejandro Tabilo in three sets to reach Indian Wells Round of 16

Taylor Fritz salvaged a tough win against Alejandro Tabilo, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, advancing to the 4th round of Indian Wells for the 5th consecutive time and the 6th time in his career, making it by far the Masters 1000 tournament where he has performed the best.

The World No. 4 had a slow start against the Chilean, who took the first set as Fritz struggled with errors. However, the local player gradually found his rhythm and ended up winning with authority to guarantee a match against Jack Draper in search of a spot in the quarterfinals.

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First Set

Fritz had a shaky start, and Tabilo capitalized, breaking early on his first chance. The 27-year-old South American saved a couple of break points and went up 3-0 as Fritz looked far from his best. A key service game was needed for Fritz to regain confidence, winning three consecutive games to level the score at 3-3.

The South American, who had just secured his first win of the season against Dusan Lajovic, looked to have the upper hand over Fritz, who committed up to 30 unforced errors compared to 19 from Tabilo. At 5-4, the Chilean had a break chance and took the first set 6-4 after two consecutive double faults from Fritz.

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Second Set

Tabilo looked determined to overcome the local player. After saving a break point, the score stayed level until 3-3. However, the quality of the World No. 4 shone through at the most crucial moment. From the middle of the set, the American took control of the match, winning 16 of the last 20 points – including two breaks – to take the set 6-3.

Fritz improved his first serve percentage from just 45% to 68%, maintaining an 85% effectiveness in both sets. This time, he only committed 10 unforced errors compared to 9 from Tabilo, and Fritz hit 5 winners compared to 3 from his opponent.

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Third Set

Tabilo began to look more deflated, and with the crowd fully behind him, Fritz grew more confident in his pursuit of victory, which seemed distant just minutes before. An early break gave Fritz a 3-0 lead, and Tabilo’s loss of confidence became evident. A double fault from the South American handed Fritz a second break, and after a contested game, he sealed the victory 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in nearly two hours.

With this, Fritz advances to the fourth round of Indian Wells for the fifth consecutive year and will face 12th seed Jack Draper for a spot in the quarterfinals. The head-to-head is currently tied at 2-2, with Draper winning their last encounter at the Paris Masters in October 2024.

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