Taylor Fritz was devastated to exit Swiss Indoors Basel after outscoring his opponent by ten points

By | Niranjan Bhargav 27 Oct, 2023

Following one of the most heartbreaking defeats of his career, Taylor Fritz departed the 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel. On October 26, at the ATP 500 competition, Alexander Shevchenko defeated the top-seeded American player.

The match, which was settled by three tiebreaks, saw both players slug it out for almost three hours. Shevchenko even the score in the second set tiebreaker, 8-6, but Taylor Fritz won the opening set, which lasted 57 minutes, 9-7. The Russian defeated the American 6-7(7), 7-6(6), 7-6(5) to complete his maiden Top-10 triumph and his greatest career win in the third set.

The statistics make the match even more astounding. There were 36 straight holds of serves, with both players, especially Fritz, floundering break points. The American could not covert 15 break points, including two match points opportunities to Shevchenko’s three.

Fritz lost the match despite hitting 22 aces, 61 winners, 21 unforced errors, and winning ten more points (139 vs 129) than his opponent.
Shevchenko displayed composure under clutch points and showcased his variety with the timely deployment of drop shots to outmaneuver one of the tournament favorites.

Taylor Fritz, who also had a difficult triumph in his first-round match against Max Purcell (7-6(7), 7-6(4)), pondered on the devastating defeat and posted the following on X (previously Twitter):

“Tennis is rough.”

Tennis is rough ?
— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) October 26, 2023

Currently rated 83rd in the world, Alexander Shevchenko has advanced to his first-ever ATP Tour quarterfinal, where he will take either Felix Auger-Aliassime, the sixth seed, or Botic van de Zandschulp on October 27.

Taylor Fritz’s early withdrawal at Basel makes his route to the ATP Finals even more crowded.

In the last two weeks, Taylor Fritz has had two early withdrawals from significant tournaments. The 25-year-old was the reigning champion at the Japan Open last week, but in the second round, he was shockingly defeated by local wildcard Shintaro Mochizuki.

Now, Fritz’s prospects of making it to the ATP Finals for the second consecutive year are severely threatened after his loss to Shevchenko in Basel. Next week in Pari, in the year’s last Masters 1000 tournament, he has to do very well.

In order to be eligible for the year-end championships, which will take place in Turin, Italy from November 12 to 19, Fritz must advance to at least the semifinals.

Last year, ranked as the eighth seed, Taylor Fritz made his ATP Finals debut, reaching the semifinals. In the group rounds, he overcame Felix Auger-Aliassime, Rafael Nadal, and Casper Ruud; however, in the championship match, he was defeated by Novak Djokovic.

The current reigning champion Djokovic, along with Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, and Carlos Alcaraz, have all advanced to the Finals thus far this year. The other three positions are presently held by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, and Holger Rune, with Fritz holding the ninth-place ranking in the ATP Live Race to Turin.

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