TOKYO: Taylor Fritz moved into the semifinals of the Japan Open Tennis Championships on Friday following the withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios due to a left knee issue. The pair had been due to meet in the night session at the ATP 500 event, where Kyrgios lifted the trophy in 2016.
"It's obviously very disappointing. It's one of my favourite tournaments. I've had great memories here... It's heartbreaking, but I'll be here next year. That's for sure," Kyrgios said in a press conference.
"I've been playing amazing tennis all year and actually was dealing with a bit of a knee issue around the US Open time. I got back home and probably didn't take enough time off, to be honest. I went straight back into training," he said.
The Tokyo fifth seed also pulled out of Atlanta earlier this year with a left-knee issue before rebounding in time to reach the US Open quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, the third seed Fritz had not won a match in three previous appearances in Tokyo but has battled hard to advance through the draw this week in the Japanese capital.
Fritz's opponent in his first ATP 500 semi-final of the season will be seventh seed Denis Shapovalov, who defeated ninth seed Borna Coric 6-4, 6-3. Shapovalov owns a 4-1 ATP Head to Head record against him.
The fourth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe raced to the semifinals with an impressive 6-0, 6-4 victory against Miomir Kecmanovic.
Tiafoe won 75 per cent (24/32) of his first-serve points, although he later noted his serve as an area to improve entering the weekend as he seeks more free points.
"I was really solid from the start. I was moving really well, I hit the ball well from the back of the court. I made it really tough for Miomir today. He played some great tennis. I was lucky enough to get it done in straight sets. Performances like this are big," Tiafoe said in his post-match press conference.
Next up for Tiafoe will be Soonwoo Kwon, who scored a bagel set of his own in a 6-3, 6-0 win against Pedro Martinez. The South Korean upset sixth seed Alex de Minaur in straight sets the opening round before a three-set win against Mackenzie McDonald. Agencies
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