WHAT HAPPENED: Taylor Fritz had no interest in a New York marathon on Wednesday night. The No. 9 seed overwhelmed Juan Pablo Varillas, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, inside Louis Armstrong Stadium to reach the third round at the US Open.
"It's great to have these matches. They're also just good confidence builders," said Fritz in his on-court interview. "I haven't had the easiest time this year getting through these early rounds, so it's been good to come on court these last two matches and take care of business."
Varillas, No. 74 in the ATP rankings, competes almost exclusively on clay courts throughout the year. His opening-round victory over Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday was his first tour-level win on a surface other than clay. But while his heavy topspin shots and defensive style are tailor-made for the dirt, they sat up in Fritz's strike zone and allowed the American to unleash a stream of baseline winners throughout their clash.
Fritz raced through the first three games of the match before the Peruvian had time to get adjusted. Although Varillas continued to fight valiantly and extend their baseline rallies, the No. 9 seed remained in control of nearly all of them as he swept through the opening set. The second set started nearly identically with an immediate break of serve for Fritz and he remained untroubled in his service games. The American cracked a forehand winner on his first set point in the second to take a commanding two-sets lead.
Varillas clearly enjoyed the moment despite the scoreline, smiling wryly on the occasions when he hit winners during extended rallies and trying to get the Peruvian fans in the crowd involved. But despite his effort, the outcome of the match was never in doubt. Fritz stormed through the final five games of the match to advance in one hour and 41 minutes. He finished the night with 10 aces and 26 winners to just 25 unforced errors.
WHAT IT MEANS: Fritz hasn't wasted any time on court so far this fortnight. He also dropped just five games in defeating fellow American Steve Johnson on Monday. The American has been consistently consistent this season, reaching at least the quarterfinals in an astounding 13 events. He's also stepped up when facing the world's best, compiling a 3-3 record against Top 10 players this year that includes victories over Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Fritz is particularly motivated at this US Open as he looks to erase the painful memories of his last visit. He suffered a heartbreaking opening-round defeat last year to qualifier Brandon Holt and still considers it one of his most painful losses.
Next up for Fritz is 17-year-old Jakub Mensik. Competing in his maiden US Open, the Czech qualifier continued his dream run on Wednesday with a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(1), 6-3 win over Titouan Droguet.
MATCH POINT: Fritz is one of the stars of the Netflix series "Break Point", which follows some of the biggest names in tennis including Frances Tiafoe, Ons Jabeur and Casper Ruud.
