Fritz Continues To Soar; Hingis Streak Grows
Taylor Fritz (San Diego Aviators) continues to take flight on the ATP World Tour, capturing his third ATP Challenger crown over the weekend.
Competing at the Happy Valley Challenger in Australia, Fritz fired 10 aces and was broken just once to knock off top seed Dudi Sela 7-6(7), 6-2.
“It felt really great. There were times during the match where it was pretty tough and I was being outplayed,” Fritz said in an interview with the tournament afterwards.
“I was lucky enough to get through. I was playing great tennis. Obviously it feels great to win. It’s been a really nice experience. Everyone here does a great job making the tournament happen. You feel really cared for at this event. I enjoyed everything. I’m sure that had some effect on how I played.”
Since making his Mylan WTT debut last July with the Aviators, Fritz has captured the US Open junior title and risen from No. 679 to No. 154 in the ATP Singles Rankings. The 18-year-old will now shift his attention to Australian Open qualifying in Melbourne.
Washington Kastles superstar Martina Hingis also tasted victory, picking up where she left off with Sania Mirza in 2015. The two triumphed in Brisbane, defeating Germans Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-1 for their 26th consecutive victory, the longest doubles win streak on the WTA Tour in 22 years.
“Every match at the beginning of the season is a good match, just trying to get that confidence going,” Hingis told the WTA website. “It’s great we already have this Brisbane title in our pockets, and we’re really looking forward to Sydney. We’ll get a couple days off before we play and then we will start again.”
In their first season together in 2015, Hingis and Mirza lifted nine trophies, including two majors (Wimbledon, US Open) and the season-ending WTA Finals. Hingis successfully retained the Brisbane crown after partnering Sabine Lisicki to the title last year.
Elsewhere, Alison Riske (Springfield Lasers) put together a strong run in Shenzhen, advancing to the final (l. to Radwanska). As a result, Riske jumped 23 spots to No. 74 in the WTA Singles Rankings. Elina Svitolina (Orange County Breakers) paired up with Alexandr Dolgopolov to reach the Hopman Cup Final in Perth. The Ukrainians finished runner-up to Australians Daria Gavrilova and Nick Kyrgios.