(Tennis news) Day 6 of the 2022 Australian Open saw the draws taking predictable turns in most of the matches. Taylor Fritz reached a personal milestone as he went into the second week of a Grand Slam event for the first time.
Fritz beat Roberto Bautista Agut for the second time in 7 matches and for the first time in three years. The Spaniard had beaten Fritz in the last three matches including their last meeting in 2021 at Monte Carlo. Roberto had been one of the players to watch out for in the ATP Cup but the American hit 73 winners which was more than double of what Roberto hit. Fritz also hit 19 aces and hit more than 10 winners in every set. He bageled the 33 year old in the first set but lost the next two sets as he came back into the match like a true fighter. Fritz defeated Roberto 6-0, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“It seems stupid, like after that match I was almost close to tearing up a bit” said Fritz. “So many people have made the second week of Slams, but it's just eluded me for so long. It means a ton, I'm proud, it didn't come easy, I beat an incredibly tough guy.”
Felix Auger-Aliassime continued his incredible start to the season as he reached the fourth round for the second consecutive time at the Australian Open. Felix had lost to Daniel Evans last year at Melbourne 2 in the final and wanted to set things right in their second meeting. The 21 year old took the first set under 50 minutes and further decreased the time in the next two sets. He was ahead of Evans in all aspects of the game, Felix had hit one unforced error than his opponent but everything else was just how his coach wanted it to be. Felix defeated Evans 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
“It’s definitely one of the best Grand Slam performances I’ve had,” said Auger-Aliassime after the match. “It was a tight first set, I was fortunate to get that break point to serve out and after that for some reason everything was working for me today. I’m really happy because the first two matches were really tough for me, so I’m happy to be through in straight sets.”
In women’s singles, Simona Halep has so far spent 3 and half hours on count in her first three matches. The 14th seed has not conceded more than 7 games in a match as she reached the fourth round by beating Danka Kovinic in straight sets. Kovinic had beaten Emma Raducanu in the previous match but failed to crack the Romanian puzzle. Halep defeated Kovinic 6-2, 6-1.
World number 2 Aryna Sabalenka had to come from a set down to beat Marketa Vondrousova. Vondrousova broke Sabalenka’s serve in the 7th game of the first set to take the lead and serve her way to the lead. Sabalenka answered back as the 32nd seed could only win 4 games in the next two sets. Sabalenka defeated Vondrousova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Also read: Osaka ousted as Kyrgios and Kokkinakis deliver double delight at Australia
