Fritz wins in Tokyo, Djokovic takes Astana Open

The Djoker defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final after two sets that he mastered perfectly. He was crowned in Kazakhstan and won his 15th ATP 500. World No. 11 Taylor Fritz fought hard and won two sets in a tie-break to claim his first-ever 500. He won the final against another American, Frances Tiafoe, ranked 19th in the world. A player he knows particularly well, since in addition to their recent encounters, they were both part of the winning team at the last Laver Cup.

Winning comeback to competition for Djoko

Djokovic, now ranked 7th in the world, is no worse than he was when he was the leader of the ATP rankings just a few months ago, far from it. Today, it only took him 1 hour and 16 minutes to beat the man who is one place higher than him in the rankings and win the 90th singles title of his professional career.

A clear dominance that saw the Serb break the Greek at the perfect time in the first set at 4-3 for him. Impressive consistency was the key to the Djoker’s success. It is what allowed him to unravel in the second set, and to break halfway through. This consistency, as is often the case, was largely embodied by the quality of his first serves (78% of first serves in the first set, 80% in the second). In his return games, the Serb also lived up to his reputation. He was able to be sharp and punish the Greek on most of his second serves, something that the latter did not manage on the few chances that Novak gave him.

Djokovic is now on a nine-match winning streak with two more ATP titles to his credit, in Tel Aviv and Astana, since his return (post-Laver Cup) after missing the American tour.

It was his stunning 6-0, 6-3 win over Pablo Andujar in the round of 16 in Tel Aviv that marked his return to the ATP Tour. Since then, eight other players have been defeated: Vasek Pospisil, Roman Safiullin, Marin Cilic (Tel Aviv final), Cristian Garin, Botic van de Zandschulp, Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev and now Stefanos Tsitsipas. An almost flawless performance. The only blemish (if you can call it that) was the only set lost, against Medvedev.

Fritz wins his first ATP 500 title

In the all-American duel, it was the Rancho Santa Fe native who got the better of the Hyattsville native. Both players started their professional careers in 2015 and this was the sixth time they met. Fritz is now 5-1 on the season, which is quite a feat considering the form of the recent US Open semi-finalist. Tiafoe will have to wait to win his second ATP title (after the 250 in Delray Beach in 2018). Fritz, on the other hand, has just won his fourth title on the main tour.