Vengeful Fritz survives Giron comeback to reach semifinals at Dallas Open

Taylor Fritz was pushed to the limit in his All-American quarterfinal battle against Marcos Giron, but survived his compatriot's second set barrage to advance to the semifinals at the 2023 Dallas Open.

After falling to Giron at the quarterfinal stage in last year's event, Fritz finally obtained his revenge in a 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3 roller-coaster ride. The top seed looked determined to prevail in the first match of the night session. However, Giron never lacked self-belief, with neither man giving up a break point in the opening set. A tiebreak ensued, with Fritz finally breaking away to close out the opening set.

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Nonetheless, it was Giron who was quick to pounce in the second. The seventh seed obtained an early break and raced to a 4-1 lead. This sole break, in addition to winning almost 90% of his first serve points, saw the World No.55 hold onto the second set lead and level the match at a set apiece.

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With thoughts of last year's loss slowly creeping upon him, Fritz was forced to increase his intensity in the final set. This saw the American No.1 obtain an early break to lead 2-0, with Giron surrendering the crucial game due to a poor second serve performance. With a break in hand, fritz held on to seal his victory after an hour and 51 minutes.

The top seed now advances to the semifinal, where he awaits the winner between eighth seed Adrian Mannarino and Chinese qualifier Yibing Wu.