What began with Iga Swiatek‘s honest take on tennis scheduling this season has turned into chaos. Carlos Alcaraz said it as well, a few days ago. He reflected on how playing non-stop can lead to exhaustion. It becomes clear from the latest incident involving American star and World No.4 Taylor Fritz. At the Shanghai Masters, the 2025 Wimbledon semi-finalist, perhaps, finally felt the brunt of the racket sport after stepping on court without proper rest. Unsurprisingly, the lack of rest proved quite costly.
In the R32, Taylor Fritz met Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who is known for his speed serves. The latter finally found his rhythm against the American, who had previously beaten him at the grass major in July. This time, however, Perricard had the last word. He dismantled Fritz amid challenging conditions at the Shanghai Masters. In straight sets, he beat him with a scoreline of 6-4, 7-5 to attain his maiden top 10 victory while also making it to the R16 of an ATP 1000 tournament for the first time.
As for Fritz, he was visibly tired. The hot weather at the venue did a nasty number on him. In a span of one week, he was seen competing at the Japan Open, where Alcaraz beat him in the final. He had hardly had a break before arriving in Shanghai. In the first match too, he was visibly struggling despite the victory – he could win against Hungary’s Fábián Marozsán only in the decider. Playing Perricard, Fritz was unable to make an impact.
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Apart from losing in straight sets, he couldn’t convert a lot of break points too. While the Frenchman fired 12 aces, the American could hit only 9. The second serve played a key role in this matchup as Perricard won 76 percent of his second serve points. Fritz, on the other hand, fell flat, winning only 58 percent points.
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While Fritz was seen struggling with his body, Perricard managed to rise up to the occasion. After making it to the fourth round of Shanghai Masters, he confessed, “The first Top 10 in a career is always a symbolic moment. I had a good match overall.” Citing unfavorable weather conditions for him and also Fritz, he revealed, “It wasn’t easy; the conditions were very complicated to manage. He had difficulties in the important moments, me too, but I’m really pleased with my level of play and with having shown some great things.”