Taylor Fritz’s ATP Finals hopes hit as humiliating defeat leaves his opponent speechless
As Taylor Fritz moved 6-0 1-0 up against Shintaro Mochizuki, the crowd at the Japan Open were just hoping their local star could get a game on the board.
The cheer that went up as Mochizuki levelled the second set at 1-1 suggested many packed into the stadium in Tokyo believed that may be the highlight of the day for the 20-year-old ranked at No 215 in the world.
Mochizuki won his first game on the ATP Tour in the first round of this same event, but it appeared he was set for a heavy beating at the hands of established top ten star Fritz.
What happened next was hard to explain, as Mochizuki grew into the match and as the second set progressed, his belief started to grow.
That same sense of anticipation was evident in the crowd, as their sympathetic cheers for Mochizuki turned to more optimistic backing.
He won the second set 6-4 and with Fritz’s bemusement at the extraordinary turnaround in the match, he then had to accept one of the most painful defeats of his career as he convincingly lost the deciding tie-break.
“I don’t really know what’s happening,” admitted a confused Mochizuki as he tried to sum up the match.
“Everybody knows that he is a good player, but I was just fighting and fighting. That’s all I could do.
“I’m so happy. I don’t know how, but I won the match, somehow.
“I was just a bit nervous at the beginning, I was scared to miss on balls, so I just tried to forget about everything and started playing my game in the second set.
“Everybody on the draw here is super tough to play against, but I am just trying to do my best. Let’s see how it goes.”
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Mochizuki was in tears after he beat Thomas Etcheverry in the opening round at the Japan Open and now he has added the most remarkable win of his young career with the scalp of Fritz.
He will now face Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the quarter-finals, with this defeat a hammer blow to Fritz’s hopes of qualifying for the lucrative ATP Finals in Turin.
The American is sitting in ninth place in the ATP Race, the rankings list that runs through the year as he has blown his chance to pick up valuable ranking points in the ATP 500 event in Tokyo.
Fritz was the top seed and favourite to win this tournament, with the 500 ranking points on offer offering the potential to provide him with a huge boost in his bid to qualify for the ATP Finals.
He is now set to play at the ATP 500 event in Basel next week, with the withdrawal of world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz opening the potential for more ranking points for Fritz.
Yet he will take some time to digest a defeat that must go down as one of the worst of his career, as he allowed a novice opponent to come back into a match he has no right to win.
