Taylor Fritz and Ivo Karlovic early casualties at ATP Houston, but Bernard Tomic advances
Taylor Fritz was a surprise loser in the first round at ATP Houston as he fell to former winner Marcel Granollers.
32-year-old Spaniard Granollers won the title back in 2008 and rekindled some of that magic to send Fritz packing.
Fritz, the fifth-seed, was the only seeded player to play in the first round as the rest received byes, but was unable to prevent Granollers claiming a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 success.
“Taylor is a player who can hit very hard. He hits very hard from the baseline and I needed to change rhythm,” said Granollers.
“If I hit good drop shots, I think it’s a good option against him and I think today it worked.”
Ivo Karlovic, the 2007 winner, was another casualty, losing 6-3, 6-4 to American Ryan Harrison.
Bernard Tomic progressed though, overcoming tricky American Denis Kudla 7-6 (8-6), 7-5, and Chile’s Christian Garin defeated Pablo Cuevas.
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