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Los Cabos 2021: Taylor Fritz vs Steve Johnson preview, head-to-head & prediction | Mifel Open

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz

Match details

Fixture: (3) Taylor Fritz vs (6) Steve Johnson

Date: 22 July 2021

Tournament: Los Cabos Open 2021

Round: Quarterfinals

Venue: Los Cabos, Mexico

Category: ATP 250

Surface: Hardcourts

Prize money: $598,545

Match timing: Approx. 7 pm local time, 1 am GMT, 9 pm ET

Live telecast: USA - ESPN & Tennis Channel

Taylor Fritz vs Steve Johnson preview

Third seed Taylor Fritz will lock horns with fellow American Steve Johnson in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Los Cabos Open on Thursday.

Fritz withstood a stern challenge from Illya Marchenko in his opening match, outlasting the Ukrainian 6-1, 6-7(9), 7-5. The 23-year-old squandered multiple match points over the course of the encounter but came up with some clutch returns in the final game to secure the decisive break.

Steve Johnson
Steve Johnson

Johnson, meanwhile, fended off Japan's Yasutaka Uchiyama to book his spot in the last eight.

The American has been extremely solid on serve all week. Johnson has hit a total of 26 aces and has won more than 75% of the points behind his first serve. Moreover, he has dropped just two service games this week and could prove to be a tough nut for Fritz to crack.

Taylor Fritz vs Steve Johnson head-to-head

Taylor Fritz and Steve Johnson have split their four previous meetings on tour, so their current head-to-head stands at a 2-2 deadlock.The two recently met in the second round at Wimbledon, with Fritz winning in five sets.

Taylor Fritz vs Steve Johnson prediction

Fritz had to battle hard in his first match this week.
Fritz had to battle hard in his first match this week.

This match is quite hard to call. Both Taylor Fritz and Steve Johnson possess similar games and are quite familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Both players rely on powerful first serves to win cheap points. Fritz, however, has the better ground game. The younger of the two Americans, Fritz is extremely solid off both wings and can strike winners at will. He is also deceptively quick and can track down plenty of balls, which will come in handy against Johnson.

If the third seed can hold his nerve in the crunch moments, he should be able to eke out a win.

Prediction: Taylor Fritz to win in three sets

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