INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – American Taylor Fritz put on a serving clinic to beat Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(2) 6-2 and advance to the third round at Indian Wells on Saturday.
The 2022 champion never faced a break point and crushed down his 14th ace on match point to beat the Chilean under sunny desert skies before a crowd supporting the San Diego native.
“It’s unreal,” Fritz said on centre court after the win.
“I was coming to this tournament as a kid for a long time and this is my favourite stop of the whole year, just to hear the crowd and the support when I walk out is incredible.”
Tabilo served well in the opener and the tight first set was ultimately settled in a tiebreak where Fritz made the most of his opportunities.
“I got some looks at second serves in the tiebreaker,” Fritz said. “Then in the second set I started finding my rhythm, returning serve a little bit better.”
Canadian Milos Raonic withdrew ahead of his second round clash with seventh seed Holger Rune due to a calf strain.
The former world number three was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open and Rotterdam with injuries in what has been a tough start to the year for the 33-year-old.
Former champion Cameron Norrie, French teenager Arthur Fils and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov all progressed in straight sets to reach the third round.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Indian Wells; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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