Dallas, February 14 – Taylor Fritz overcame an injury scare to defeat Sebastian Korda 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(5) and secure a place in the Dallas Open semifinals.
At 4-5, 30/15 in the first set, Fritz hit an awkward backhand shot that resulted in sharp pain and a visit to the physiotherapist in the same game. He had the injury treated, but was still experiencing pain, although not as intensely. The physiotherapist visited him multiple times, which he explained helped, according to ATP reports.
"That was a strange one. He hit a really hard return, so I had to kind of hit a backhand shot, and the way I hit it, I think I jammed my elbow. It was a hard-hit ball, so I just think the way I hit it behind me and extended my elbow, I instantly felt this really sharp pain in my elbow," Fritz said in his on-court interview.
"I went over to the towel box, and I was feeling the pain, and I thought, 'I'll try to hit a serve.' Luckily, I managed it, and it wasn't a bad serve, because the ball came back, and I couldn't hit the next ball. It was such a sharp pain."
Fritz had to contend with Korda, who served at 5/4 in the final-set tie-break. However, the former No. 15 ranked player in the ATP Rankings made back-to-back forehand errors, allowing Fritz to escape. The top seed hit 22 aces and saved all four break points he faced, according to ATP Stats.
Fritz will next face former World No. 3 Marin Cilic, who defeated British newcomer Jack Pinnington Jones 6-1, 6-4 in just 78 minutes.
The Croatian, a 21-time tour-level champion, is pursuing his first ATP Tour title since 2024. Fritz leads their ATP head-to-head series 2-1, but they have not played since 2022.