On a humid afternoon at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Taylor Fritz, the world No. 4 and America’s top-ranked male tennis player, delivered a performance that blended grit with brilliance. Facing off against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the 2025 Miami Open on March 24, Fritz emerged victorious with a 7-5, 6-3 scoreline, securing his spot in the fourth round. What made the triumph even more remarkable was the shadow of a hand injury that loomed over him, a lingering concern from an earlier stumble that tested his resilience as much as his skill. This wasn’t just a win—it was a statement, a revenge-fueled redemption after a stinging loss to Shapovalov in Dallas earlier this year.
The match began with Fritz asserting dominance, his towering serve firing on all cylinders. He broke Shapovalov early, racing to a 3-0 lead in the first set and claiming 12 of the opening 15 points. The Canadian, ranked No. 28 and known for his flashy one-handed backhand, struggled to find his footing against Fritz’s relentless pace. “I probably returned a little bit better today,” Fritz reflected afterward, acknowledging the subtle shift that tilted the scales in his favor. Yet, Shapovalov, a fighter with a history of unsettling the American, clawed his way back. By the time the set reached 5-5, the tension was palpable—18 unforced errors from Shapovalov’s racquet kept Fritz in the driver’s seat, but the Canadian’s tenacity threatened a turnaround. It was only when Shapovalov faltered on serve in the final game, undone by two double faults, that Fritz sealed the set 7-5 after a grueling 52 minutes.
The second set unfolded with a familiar rhythm. Fritz broke early again, surging to 3-0, but the match took a dramatic turn when he called for a medical timeout. A fall earlier in the tournament had left his hand tender, and the discomfort was evident as he flexed his fingers between points. “If we went through that match 10 times, I feel like I would win it more times than I would lose it,” Fritz later mused, a nod to his confidence despite the physical setback. After treatment, he returned with renewed vigor, his serve a weapon of precision—landing 75% of his first serves and winning every single one, conceding just two points on serve throughout the set. Shapovalov, meanwhile, managed only 62% of his first-serve points, his frustration mounting as Fritz’s consistency wore him down. The American closed out the set 6-3, wrapping up the match in one hour and 26 minutes.
This victory wasn’t just about advancing—it was personal. Shapovalov had bested Fritz in Dallas last month, a third-set tiebreak that handed the Canadian an ATP 500 title and nudged their head-to-head record to 6-5 in his favor. “In that match, he served really well,” Fritz admitted, contrasting it with Miami, where “he threw in some doubles, and overall I played well.” The win marked Fritz’s second trip to the Miami Open fourth round, a milestone he last reached in 2023, and it underscored a resurgence after a rocky start to 2025. Following a US Open final run in 2024 that propelled him to a career-high ranking, Fritz had stumbled, managing only an 11-5 record before Miami. An abdominal injury forced him out of Acapulco, and a fourth-round exit at Indian Wells to Jack Draper had raised questions. Yet, in Miami, he’s finding his groove, his serve-and-forehand game clicking against a familiar foe.
Shapovalov, for his part, arrived in Miami with momentum. A semifinal run in Acapulco and that Dallas title hinted at a return to the form that once saw him crack the top 10. His second-round win over Argentina’s Thiago Tirante—a three-set marathon that stretched nearly two and a half hours—showed his grit, but the toll was apparent against Fritz. Fatigue crept in, and his serve, usually a strength, betrayed him with six double faults, including a pair in the decisive first-set finale.
As Fritz advances, he’ll face a surprise opponent: Australian lucky loser Adam Walton, who edged Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong in a three-set thriller to become the fourth lucky loser in Miami Open history to reach this stage. “I’m playing pretty good tennis,” Fritz said, his optimism buoyed by back-to-back fourth-round runs at Indian Wells and now Miami. For the third-seeded American—the highest seed from the U.S. in Miami since Andy Roddick in 2007—the path to a second ATP Masters 1000 title, after Indian Wells in 2022, looks promising. But this win, forged through pain and past defeats, might just be the spark he needs to ignite a deeper run in South Florida.
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