LONDON (Reuters) -Frances Tiafoe sent down 23 aces to win 7-6(11) 6-4 6-2 and blow away the second-round challenge of Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker at Wimbledon on Thursday, while fellow American Taylor Fritz was eliminated.
Tenth seed Tiafoe, who is into the third round at the grasscourt Grand Slam for a third straight time, served with consistent precision and won 89% of his first serve points, leaving precious few opportunities for his 20-year-old opponent.
Tiafoe was slightly wasteful in the first set, squandering two break points at 1-0 and a set point at 5-4, as the opener drifted to a tiebreak which he eventually claimed.
The second set was more straightforward but it was not all smooth sailing for the American.
He was inches away from being broken in the third set but expertly bailed himself out of a sticky situation by firing off another ace before breaking Stricker at 2-2 with a backhand winner, earning the applause of a limited crowd on Court 12.
Tiafoe will next face the winner of the match between Bulgarian 21st seed Grigor Dimitrov and Ilya Ivashka of Belarus.
Fritz, a quarter-finalist last year, pulled off a miraculous save in his marathon win over Yannick Hanfmann earlier this week but after once again being taken to five sets, this time by Sweden’s Mikael Ymer, the ninth seed succumbed.
It was an incredible comeback from Ymer, who was on the verge of defeat and reeling at two sets and a break down, before roaring back to earn a 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.
Fritz’s compatriots Michael Mmoh and J.J. Wolf were also knocked out after losing in straight sets, while 16th-seeded Tommy Paul beat 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic to reach the third round.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
