Taylor Fritz defeats David Goffin in Shanghai | ATP Tour

Match Report

Fritz fires past Goffin into Shanghai SFs

Seventh seed will meet Djokovic or Mensik in last four

October 11, 2024

Is Taylor Fritz set for a return to the ATP Masters 1000 winners’ circle?

The American on Friday marched into the last four at the Rolex Shanghai Masters with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph against David Goffin. With his 82-minute win, Fritz reached his third hard-court Masters 1000 semi-final, and his first since he lifted his only trophy at that level at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

“I feel like sometimes it takes a couple of matches to find my routines, to find what feels good and what is working for me,” said Fritz after reaching his fifth Masters 1000 semi-final overall. “I feel like once I get past the first two rounds, I feel very locked in. I’ve come this far already, so I might as well really dial it in and I’m just enjoying being here.”

Cruising by 🙌@Taylor_Fritz97 takes out Goffin to reach his 5th ATP Masters 1000 SF 🔥@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/dsfDu01IFy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 11, 2024

Competing in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash against Goffin since 2021, Fritz overpowered the Belgian to improve to 49-19 for the season. The 26-year-old’s high-quality groundstrokes off both wings helped him convert three of seven break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and he rarely looked likely to loosen his grip of the quarter-final encounter.

“I think I’ve been serving pretty well all week, especially in the match against Holger [Rune] and today,” said Fritz, who won 70 per cent (14/20) of points behind his second delivery in his quarter-final win. “I knew I had to. I knew serves that might work well against somebody else might not necessarily work against Goffin.

“The one thing I remembered about playing him is that he’s an incredible returner, and serves I’m not used to seeing come back, they come back. So I really had to be on it with my serve and extra aggressive with second serves.”