Shut however not fairly for Gabriel Diallo.
The Canadian misplaced for the third time in as many matches towards American Taylor Fritz this yr on Thursday, falling 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) within the opening spherical of the Japan Open.
The second-seeded Fritz, ranked fifth on the planet, beat Diallo in 5 units at Wimbledon after which in straight units on the Nationwide Financial institution Open in Toronto.
In a battle of huge servers, Fritz obtained a mini-break on the opening level of the tiebreak and by no means trailed the remainder of the best way.
It was Diallo’s first match since he bowed out within the second spherical of the U.S. Open on Aug. 28. He’s the world No. 35.
Diallo had 40 winners, however simply could not discover a approach to get out of bother within the tiebreak.
Fritz, the Japan Open champ in 2022, had a fast turnaround after enjoying within the Laver Cup group occasion in San Francisco final weekend.
Fritz will face Nuno Borges of Portugal within the second spherical.
