NEWPORT BEACH, January 29, 2018
Taylor Fritz captured the title of the inaugural $150,000 Oracle Challenger Series at Newport Beach. The third seed emerged victorious from an all-US-American singles final with Bradley Klahn 3-6, 7-6, 6-0.
Fritz struck aces, winning 78 per cent of his first service points. The 20-year-old broke his opponent’s serve six times to prevail after one hour and 35 minutes.
Congratulations to our first ever Men’s Singles winner of the Oracle Challenger Series: Taylor Fritz! 3:6 7:5 6:0 vs Bradley Klahn @OracleChallngrs @ATPChallenger @Taylor_Fritz97 @BradleyKlahn #RoadToIndianWells pic.twitter.com/7pk4PuYKhZ
— OracleTennis (@OracleTennis) 28. Januar 2018
“Winning this title just felt so good. Even though it was 5-0 (in the third set), I wanted it so bad. I was super tense. It’s been so long since I’ve won a title, which made it even more special. It’s been two years since I’ve won a tournament. It means so much for my confidence to get me back on track,” Fritz told.
By lifting his fourth ATP Challenger career title, his first since Happy Valley in January 2016, Fritz earns $21,600 in prize money as well as 125 ATP ranking points. The Californian is the first #NextGenATP winner of the season and will move up to No. 76 in the ATP rankings.
“I have a couple goals. My first goal is to be in the Top 50,” Fritz added. “I’ve been trying to do that for a while now and I think everything is starting to come together. It started coming together at the end of last year. Stay healthy and then long term, once I get to that goal, I really want to get seeded at the Australian Open next year. That’s my ultimate goal for this year.”
