Taylor Fritz advanced to the Stockholm Open second round after defeating British player Cameron Norrie on Wednesday.
The American star, a former US Open finalist, defeated Norrie 7-6, 6-3 in the Swedish capital.
Fritz was made to work hard for his victory, saving one set point in the first set and multiple break points at 3-3 in the second set.
The American ultimately prevailed and can now look forward to a clash with Holger Rune in the next round.
Following Wednesday’s contest, Fritz was asked about a potential rule change being tested in Stockholm this week: fresh balls are being introduced every seven games, rather than the usual nine.
It would be fair to say that Fritz is happy with the change.
Taylor Fritz voices his support for the potential rule change being implemented at the Stockholm Open
“I think the most effective solution [for the quality of balls] is fixing the s–– balls, but this new rule definitely helps. Like, it definitely helps,” Fritz told the Tennis Master in Stockholm.
“This would have been a very, very, miserable match to play if we were not switching after seven. Because even with the seven and seven switch, the first ball change for me was brutal because of the warm-up, actually.
“You wouldn’t think it, but just adding that extra warm up plus the first seven games, at the end of the first ball change, it was already like, ‘Wow, I need new balls. This is getting really rough.’ It’s tough to play.
“So after we got past that, changing on every seven was huge, honestly. The thing is, it matters so much on the surface, and it’s really tough to tell, because here the court is tearing the balls up much more than what was happening in Paris and what was happening in Basel.
“So, the balls just react differently to different courts and different weather when we’re playing outside.
“So I said this before, some weeks seven and nine is actually okay. Most weeks, seven and seven is probably better, but it’ll change week to week, and this is definitely one of those weeks where a quicker ball change is needed for sure.”
Taylor Fritz’s projected path to the Stockholm Open title
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R1 – BYE
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R2 – defeated Cameron Norrie 7-6, 6-3
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QF – Holger Rune
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SF – Lorenzo Musetti or Ugo Humbert
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F – Alejandro Tabilo or Alex Michelsen
Fritz has long been a vocal proponent for improving the quality of tennis balls used on the ATP Tour.
Fritz recently complained about the balls used at the Shanghai Masters, stating that they ‘wear out so fast.’
Fritz is far from the only individual to have voiced concerns regarding the quality of tennis balls used on the Tour in recent years.
At the Rotterdam Open in February, Daniil Medvedev described the HEAD Tour XT balls as ‘terrible’.
Taylor Fritz’s record vs Holger Rune
Fritz and Rune – who recently returned from a long-term injury suffered at the 2025 Stockholm Open – first played each other at the 2023 Miami Open.
Fritz came out on top against the 2022 Paris Masters champion, triumphing 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16.
Just under one year later, Rune avenged his Miami defeat.
The Danish youngster beat Fritz 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the 2024 Indian Wells Round of 16. Rune went on to lose in the quarter-finals to Daniil Medvedev.
Fritz bounced back emphatically in their third and final contest, beating Rune 6-1, 6-2 in the 2024 Shanghai Masters Round of 16.
Fritz defeated David Goffin in the quarter-finals, before losing to Novak Djokovic in the last four.
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Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original