Fritz makes hay on the grass as Felix lies in wait
Taylor Fritz is on course to add another grass court title to his resume after he moved into the semi-finals at the Stuttgart Open, beating Marton Fucsovics 6-3 6-4 in a quarter-final that lasted 77 minutes.
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Fritz is the No.2 seed at the grass court championship in Germany and will be looking to add to titles on the surface he won at Eastbourne in 2019, 2022 and 2024.
The 27-year-old, who was upset by Daniel Altmaier in the first-round at Roland Garros, will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last four, and said he knows what to expect against the Canadian.
"I think regardless of the surface, when Felix and I have played, it has been on pretty fast hard courts, so it has always come down to a lot of serving and one or two breaks," Fritz said.
"I think it will be a similar situation."
Auger-Aliassime took his place in the last four after defeating Justin Engel 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
The Canadian is chasing his third title of the season and blasted 18 aces past the German teenager, reaching a sixth semi-final on grass.
Engel, who is only 17, defeated Australia's James Duckworth and Alex Michelsen on his way to becoming the youngest grass-court quarter-finalist on the ATP Tour since countryman Boris Becker did so at Wimbledon in 1985.
As a result, Engel will rocket up 47 places in the world rankings to No.234, still a way off his more illustrious opponent here, but remarkable nonetheless.
