Tiafoe Beats Fritz In Battle of Americans at Indian Wells
In a matchup of two American teenagers on Thursday, Francis Tiafoe hung on to defeat Taylor Fritz 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 and move into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
After both young phenoms traded sets, Tiafoe would nail down the only break point in the third set and saved the only one he faced to move past Fritz and into the next round.
Tiafoe advances to take on 15th-seeded Belgian David Goffin next.
In another all-American matchup on Thursday, it was the 31-year-old Rajeev Ram taking on 20-year-old Long Islander Noah Rubin.
Both players exchanged breaks in each set, but both times it was the veteran Ram who would outlast Rubin in tie-breakers, winning 14 of the 19 total points in both tie-breakers, ousting Rubin 7-6(3), 7-6(2).
Ram will take on the 17th-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia in the next round.
Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro made a winning start in his Indian Wells return, breezing past American Tim Smyczek 6-3, 6-0 on Thursday.
“I think I played well, but I am so happy to be playing tennis again,” said del Potro. “I missed the sport a lot, suffering at home as I tried to fix my wrist. It’s great to be at this big tournament, playing on Centre Court and being around the top guys. It’s very positive just to be here. I think I surprised myself with my level. I didn’t expect to play that well tonight.”
The Argentine will need to play at that level once again in the second round as he faces a stiff test in sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych.
American Ryan Harrison was the third American to reach the second round with a victory on Thursday, as he defeated Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 7-6(3).
Harrison will take on 10th-seeded Croat Marin Cilic. The two met in the Acapulco round of 32 last month where Harrison upset Cilic 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Other winners in Indian Wells on Thursday were: Guido Pella, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Leonardo Mayer, Robin Haase, Illya Marchenko, Marcel Granollers, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Andrey Kuznetsov, Nicolas Mahut, Borna Coric, Inigo Cervantes and Federico Delbonis.
