Fritz falls victim to to French breakthrough

Taylor Fritz became the first top 10 victim of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Sunday as the Frenchman earned the first top 10 win of his career with an upset at the Shanghai Masters.

The 6-4, 7-5 defeat of world no. 4 Fritz took just 85 minutes, Putting the winner into a Masters fourth round for the first time; it also served as revenge for a loss to the American at Wimbledon..

The match was a physical test for both players due to intense humidity which has blanketed Shanghai all week.

Fritz at one point doubled over to catch his breath as the physical exertions took a toll.

The 37th-ranked winner advanced with 12 aces and never faced a break point.

“Before this my record was not good, 0-6 [against Top 10 players]” Mpetshi Perricard said. 

“Some of the matches were tough losses for me; I have a lot of things to improve. I tried to do a few things better than at Wimbledon, and it worked today.

“It was a tough match, physically and mentally, but I did well and I’m very happy about it.”

Mpetshi Perricard will next play Holger Rune after the 10th seed defeated Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-4, his fifth win without a loss against the Frenchman.

Rune, like Fritz, is battling for a spot in the eight-man year-end finals next month in Turin.

“I think I had a good balance today of playing aggressive and making him work at the same time, making him run because we both feel when we run in this kind of weather, it’s more tough,” Rune said.

Canadian Gabriel Diallo reached the fourth round after only 10 minutes on court when David Goffin was forced to retire injured trailing 3-0.