ATP Shanghai: Taylor Fritz masters David Goffin (6-3, 6-4) in the quarter-finals and awaits Novak Djokovic

Although he came out of a Grand Slam final on hard, Taylor Fritz had not tasted a half of Masters 1000 on this surface since his coronation at Indian Wells in 2022. In Shanghai on Friday, the American remedied this incongruity by getting the better of a resurgent David Goffin in two sets (6-3, 6-4) and 1h22 of play in the quarter-final. To do even better and reach the final, he will face Novak Djokovic or the young Jakub Mensik who will face each other later in the day.

For the 5th time in his career Taylor Fritz will be in the final four of a Masters 1000, and it is entirely logical. The 7th player in the world, but 5th in the Race, is in his place, even more so after his recent final at the US Open. And he embraces it perfectly, as he showed this Friday. Without evolving at his very best level, he showed off a certain margin against David Goffin whose current level is not insignificant, despite his 66th place in the ATP ranking, since he had notably offered himself the scalp of Alexander Zverev in the previous round.

To ensure his success in this match, Fritz relied on two fundamental elements: his quality of service (67% of first serves, 10 aces and no double faults) and his striking force superior to that of his opponent. In the exchange, Goffin competed thanks to his ability to cut trajectories and use his timing wisely. He even caught up after conceding an entry break (from 3-0 to 3-2), but he suffered too much on his second ball (only 35% of points won behind) to keep up the pace. He gave up his serve again in the 6th game (4-2) then at the start of the second set (6-3, 2-1) and was never able to turn the table over.

The Belgian nevertheless fought until the end. At 6-3, 5-3 against him, he even saved three match points with style on his serve: the first two at the net and the third with a laser backhand along the line. But confident of his strength and efficient on his first attacking shots behind the serve, Fritz concluded the debates in the following game.