Taylor Fritz becomes first American in 14 years to reach quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters
Taylor Fritz became the first American in 14 years to reach the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters after overcoming compatriot Sebastian Korda on Thursday.
Korda, who caused a major upset by getting the better of Miami Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round, lost 7-6(4), 7-5 against the 10th-seeded Fritz, who will meet Davodovich Fokina in the quarterfinals.
Sam Querrey was the last American to make it to the last eight in Monte Carlo back in 2008. He was beaten by Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
The first American to reach the Monte-Carlo quarters in 14 years! 🇺🇸
@Taylor_Fritz97 sees off compatriot Korda 7-6(4) 7-5 to join the #RolexMCMasters last 8 for the first time https://t.co/DtbZesBeqQ
En route to the quarterfinals in 2008, Querrey defeated former French Open champion Carlos Moya, Andreas Seppi and Richard Gasquet, who was the seventh seed in the competition that year.
The 2022 edition of the Monte-Carlo Masters has already seen a flurry of upsets, with Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Carlos Alcaraz making early exits.
As such, Taylor Fritz, who is currently ranked No. 13 and has two career titles to his name, will fancy his chances of staging a deep run.
Taylor Fritz looking to become first American semifinalist in Monte-Carlo since Aaron Krickstein in 1992
Many American players have historically chosen to skip the Monte-Carlo Open, although several have enjoyed some success when they decided to participate.
Jimmy Connors was declared the joint winner of the tournament along with Guillermo Vilas of Argentina in the rain-abandoned final of 1981.
American Jimmy Arias lost to Mats Wilander in the final of the 1987 event while Aaron Krickstein made it to the title clash in 1992 only to go down to Thomas Muster of Austria.
Against that background, Taylor Fritz will be tasked with improving his country's record in the tournament. He will, however, have to find a way past the giant-killing Davidovich Fokina, who has accounted for Novak Djokovic and David Goffin so far.
The American ended up on the losing side when the two players last met in the 2019 edition of the Estoril Open.