Taylor Fritz (Laver Cup - Twitter)
The world No. 11 Taylor Fritz locks horns with world No. 22 Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals of the Japan Open on Saturday.
The 24-year-old was touted as one of the hot favorites to go the distance at the Japan Open. He has done justice to the expectations so far in the competition. He is yet to lose a semifinal this year.
The American tennis pro began his Japan Open campaign with a hard-fought victory in three sets against James Duckworth in the round of 32. In the round of 16, he blew away Japanese qualifier Hiroki Moriya in the first set. However, a spirited comeback from Moriya took the match into the decisive third set. Eventually, Fritz won the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. In the quarter-finals, Fritz was scheduled to face Nick Kyrgios but the Australian tennis pro pulled out ahead of the match.
The Canadian youngster reached the finals at the recently-concluded Korea Open and has continued his rich vein of form so far in the Japan Open.
Shapovalov began his campaign with a solid win against Steve Johnson. In the round of 16, the 23-year-old took on Rio Noguchi. The Japanese qualifier was completely outplayed by the in-form Shapovalov as the latter won the match 6-3, 6-1. In the quarter-finals, Shapovalov went past former world No. 12 Borna Coric to set up a clash with Taylor Fritz. The scoreline was 6-4, 6-3 in favor of Shapovalov.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 4-1 in favor of Denis Shapovalov. He defeated Fritz 7-6, 6-2 in the San Diego Open last year.
Prediction: Denis Shapovalov to win in three sets.
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