Taylor Fritz halted the run of a resurgent Marin Cilic in the semi-finals of the Nexo Dallas Open on Saturday.
In a match decided by fine margins, the top seed held his nerve to edge the Croatian 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in a gripping two-hour, two-minute clash, hammering 22 aces past the 37-year-old.
"Just really calm serving. I think that's the biggest thing when I feel calm and relaxed, I serve well," Fritz said in his on-court interview.
Both players dominated with big deliveries in a match that featured no breaks. Fritz did not face a break point and struck 22 aces to Cilic’s 16, including four in the first-set tie-break, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Although he failed to convert any of his five break-point chances, Fritz's composure on serve ultimately made the difference as he won 86 per cent (48/56) of his first-serve points.
“That’s something every tennis player experiences when you’re the one in the opponent’s service games," Fritz said. "You have some chances, you’re cruising on your service games and all of a sudden they get one break point, you’ll probably win it. You’ll go to the tie-break, all of a sudden some returns came back and I just told myself to be really ready in that tie-break."
With the win, Fritz took a 3-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and advanced to his first final on home soil after reaching the US Open final in 2024. He will face countryman Ben Shelton or defending champion Denis Shapovalov in the title match.
Cilic was hoping to reach his first final above the ATP 250 level since winning the Queen’s Club title in 2018. With his semi-final run in Dallas, the Croat is up 18 spots to No. 43 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
