Moutet sends Fritz crashing back to Earth
Corentin Moutet survived a match point in the second set — and a forehand to the face late in the third — to upset Taylor Fritz at the HSBC Championships.
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In a dramatic match that twisted and turned for two hours and 54 minutes, the French qualifier ultimately clinched a 6-7(5), 7-6(7), 7-5 victory at The Queen's Club in London.
Third-seeded Fritz, playing two days after lifting the Stuttgart title, had match point at 7/6 in the second-set tie-break but missed a shoe-string, pick-up volley after Moutet did well to fire a dipping backhand on the run.
It was the American who threatened a comeback in set three, denying Moutet's bid to serve out the match at 5-4, but the World No. 89 broke straight back and finished the job with a volley winner in his second opportunity to serve out the win.
"It's my second [Top 10 win] this year and in my life," Moutet said. "We've been working so hard with my team. I won three matches here [including two in qualifying], very close matches, and I'm so happy that it pays [off] in this tournament. We were waiting for that kind of result, a bit frustrated since the beginning of the year because I was close but I never managed to win.
"I'm so happy for myself and my team, because they invest so much in my career, supporting me so much. Even my family, everybody who's behind this project. I'm very happy to give this win to them, to myself. It means a lot."
With Moutet serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, Fritz ripped a low, running forehand straight at Moutet, who was positioned at net. The strategic shot hit Moutet in the forehead and briefly sent him to the ground, with Fritz quick to offer an apology.
The victory is Moutet's second against Top 10 opponents and his best career win by ATP Ranking against the World No. 4. His only other Top 10 win in 16 previous attempts came against then-No. 10 Holger Rune this May in Rome. That match clocked in at three hours, 44 minutes — the longest best-of-three match this season on the ATP Tour.
Fritz, who did not drop serve last week in Stuttgart, was broken twice by Moutet on four break points. Moutet will next face home hope Jacob Fearnley for a place in the quarter-finals.
