Sunday, June 30, 2019

Fritz frustrates Querrey for first ATP title

Taylor Fritz dominated Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-4 in a matchup of
California natives to win the Eastbourne title. 2018 photo
courtesy of JFS Communications
   Taylor Fritz and Sam Querrey went unbeaten in Northern California Challengers several years ago.
   Fritz won the Sacramento and Fairfield titles in consecutive weeks at 17 in 2015 after skipping the Tiburon tournament. Querrey swept the three-week swing through Napa, Sacramento and Tiburon in 2014.
   On Saturday, Fritz dominated Querrey 6-3, 6-4 on grass in Eastbourne, England, for his first ATP title.
   "It's so amazing," Fritz, a 21-year-old Southern Californian, gushed on atptour.com. "I almost can't believe it. I'm still trying to take it in. I've wanted to win a tour title ever since I made the final (in Memphis) when I was 18. It feels like I've just been waiting so long. I'm so happy."
   The matchup of unseeded California natives lasted only 61 minutes. Fritz won 31 of 35 points (89 percent) on his first serve and saved the only break point against him.
   The 31-year-old Querrey, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Thousand Oaks in the Los Angeles area, had nine aces and no double faults. He was playing in his first tournament since Houston in April because of an abdominal injury.
   Fritz will rise from No. 42 to a career high of about No. 30 on Monday. His mother (Kathy May), father (Guy Fritz) and uncle (Harry Fritz) all played professionally. May climbed to No. 10 in the world and played in three Grand Slam quarterfinals.
   Fritz and Querrey are scheduled to play their first-round Wimbledon matches on Tuesday. Fritz will face 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, and Querrey will take on fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria.
   Querrey reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2017 and quarterfinals in 2016, ousting the defending champion -- Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, respectively -- each time. Fritz reached the second round last year for his best result in three Wimbledon appearances.

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