ATP roundup: All-American final on tap in Eastbourne

Oct 16, 2021; Indian Wells, CA, USA;  Taylor Fritz (USA) hits a shot in his semifinal match against Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Americans Maxime Cressy and 2019 champion Taylor Fritz will meet in the Rothesay International final on Saturday in Eastbourne, England.

Both men went the distance in Friday’s semifinals. Cressy outlasted Great Britain’s Jack Draper 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 in two hours and 41 minutes. Cressy fired 21 aces, saved all six break points he faced and recorded the only service break of the match to take a 4-2 lead in the third set.

The third-seeded Fritz won 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 against No. 6 Alex De Minaur of Australia. Fritz struck 13 aces and also saved all six break points he faced.

Cressy, 25, is seeking his first ATP Tour title. This will be his first meeting on the main tour against Fritz, 24, who will be looking for his third title.

Mallorca Championships

No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and No. 5 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain advanced to Saturday’s final with straight-set victories.

Tsitsipas saved all three break points and won 75.7 percent of the points on his first serve (28 of 37) during a 6-4, 6-4 semifinal win against unseeded Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.

Bautista Agut broke the serve of Switzerland’s Antoine Bellier three times in the second set to finish off a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory. Bellier, No. 303 in the world, was the lowest-ranked semifinalist on the tour this season.

It is the first grass-court final for Tsitsipas, 23, who is seeking his ninth career title. He won both previous matches against Bautista Agut, 34.

–Field Level Media

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