ATP Stuttgart: Fritz, Tiafoe, Shapovalov join Berrettini and Kyrgios
With Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe (both USA) and Denis Shapovalov (CAN), after defending champion Matteo Berrettini (ITA) and Nick Kyrgios (AUS), the next "top performers" will be appearing at the BOSS OPEN, which will take place from June 10th to 18th will be held at the Weissenhof in Stuttgart, promised!
by p.m
last edit: Apr 27, 2023, 02:42 pm
Taylor Fritz's strength on grass is clearly reflected in his track record: the American celebrated two of his five ATP tournament victories on a green surface in Eastbourne in 2019 and 2022. He also made it into his first quarter-finals at a Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon last year.
Fritz is known for his offensive style of play - with a strong serve and powerful forehand he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. “I really enjoy playing on grass and am looking forward to starting my season on this surface at the Weissenhof in Stuttgart. In terms of doing well in Wimbledon, the tournament is very important to me," emphasizes Fritz, whose popularity has literally skyrocketed through his participation in the Netflix series "Break Point".
Step by step, 25-year-old Fritz is fulfilling the hopes that were placed in him as a teenager. Last year he won the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells by beating Rafael Nadal in the final, making him the first American since Andre Agassi in 2001 to be included in the list of winners of this prestigious tournament. After the triumph in Tokyo in October 2022, Fritz won his fifth ATP title in Delray Beach in February of this year and thus climbed up to fifth place in the world rankings - the last US player before Fritz in the top 5 in the ATP -Ranking was Andy Roddick in September 2009.
Shapovalov in the semifinals of Wimbledon 2021
With Frances Tiafoe, one of the big crowd favorites on the ATP tour is celebrating its Stuttgart premiere this year. The charismatic American, who is currently eleventh in the world rankings, knows like no other how to take the audience with him in his matches. So he sometimes high fives with the spectators out of joy about a spectacular point win. Tiafoe presented himself very well last year at the US Open in New York, where he reached the semifinals. And the two-time ATP tournament winner (Delray Beach/2018, Houston/2023) has also made a name for himself as a "team player".
Last season, Tiafoe defeated the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas to win Team World's success at the Laver Cup. With his compatriot Jack Sock, "Big Foe" had the upper hand at the start of the comparison with "Team Europe" in doubles against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. After this match, Federer, who had triumphed at Stuttgart's Weissenhof in 2018, resigned from the tennis stage. Earlier this year, Tiafoe was instrumental in helping the US team win the inaugural United Cup in Australia with an impressive record of 5-0 singles match wins.
Denis Shapovalov had his moment of glory on grass in 2021 when he marched through to the semi-finals at Wimbledon after knocking out Andy Murray (GBR), Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) and Karen Khachanov, among others, in the Grand Slam tournament. In the semi-finals, the Canadian also offered the eventual tournament winner Novak Djokovic a make or break fight, which the Serb finally won after three hard-fought sets. "Shapo" already demonstrated his qualities on grass in 2016 when he was crowned junior Wimbledon champion.
“Taylor Fritz has established himself in the top ten in the world rankings and, with his style of play, has everything he needs to be successful on grass. He is one of the most popular players on the ATP tour among tennis fans, along with Frances Tiafoe and Denis Shapovalov. One thing is already certain: Thanks to a top line-up, the well-known Stuttgart tennis audience can look forward to a first-class tournament at the Stuttgart Weissenhof again this year,” tournament director Edwin Weindorfer is convinced.