MONTREAL/STARNBERG, August 8, 2024
The US-American trio of Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton is in the second round of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal.
Fritz defeated Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 14 minutes. The No. 9 seed of the ATP Masters 1000 event struck seven aces and won 78 per cent of his first-service points to advance in one hour and 14 minutes.
Solid 💪@Taylor_Fritz97 notches his 38th win of the season, 6-4 6-1 over Mariano Navone in Montreal. #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/YuFR1CkYF5
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 7, 2024
“It was a solid match. I feel like the level, probably from both of us, went up a bit in the second set. We started playing longer points,” said Fritz, who hit 19 winners to the Argentine’s three. “The conditions are tough. The balls feel so hard to control, so kind of a lot of errors coming out from both sides. I started getting into the movement — moving side to side — just feeling a bit more normal on the court in the second set.”
No. 9 seed Paul beat Italy’s Luciano Darderi 6-4, 7-6(2) in one hour and 45 minutes and 11th-seeded Shelton edged past his doubles partner Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan 7-6(4), 6-2 in one hour and 29 minutes.
Just warming up for their doubles later 😜@BenShelton defeats Alexander Bublik for the first time, 7-6 6-2, at #OBN24. pic.twitter.com/bEdQxHyfR7
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 7, 2024
“I think the consistency in my tennis is improving every week,” Shelton said. “I’m feeling more and more comfortable. I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the court against guys that I’ve had a lot of trouble with before. I think that my game is evolving every day. Surely not the player that I want to be in the future, but I think I’m moving the right way with a lot of things and finding identity on court.”
