WHAT HAPPENED: 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Taylor Fritz got his 2024 US Open campaign off to a respectable start, easing past Camilo Ugo Carabelli, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. The American No. 1—who reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows in 2023—now advances to the second round at the tournament for the sixth time.
The encounter was always going to be an uphill battle for Ugo Carabelli. Coming into the match, the American possessed a 185-123 career hard-court record, while the Argentinian, conversely, had not recorded a single tour-level win on the surface. Additionally, despite claiming six Challenger titles over the past three years, the world No. 93 was competing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for just the second time.
In the early stages, however, Ugo Carabelli did not seem to be overawed by the occasion, and the first set turned into an up-and-down battle, with neither man able to firmly maintain an advantage. Ugo Carabelli broke Fritz’s blistering serve in the first game with a backhand-down-the-line winner and used his speed around the court to force his higher-ranked opponent into hitting additional shots. But he struggled to get his own serve going—for much of the first set his first serve percentage hovered just above 30%—and the American broke right back.
The pair stayed even until the eighth game, when Fritz stepped in on his opponent's second serve and blasted a return winner to lead, 5-3. Surprisingly, Fritz couldn't serve out the set, as Ugo Carabelli drew him into the net on break point with a well-timed drop shot that the world No. 12 couldn't control. The set appeared destined to end in a tiebreak. Then, up 40-0 on his own serve at 6-5, the Argentinian dropped the next five points in a row and Fritz undoubtedly breathed a sigh of relief.
Ugo Carabelli’s service woes continued into the second set, while Fritz began to find his range and rein in the unforced errors that marred his performance in the first. He also began to better defend his second serve points. He won the first five games of the second and quickly found himself up two sets. Ugo Carabelli promptly left the court to regroup, but the break didn’t help. He could make no serious inroads on his opponent’s serve—Fritz won his first seven service points in the third—and found himself broken at love in the fifth game of the set. Fritz served it out with little trouble, ending with an ace; after the back-and-forth first set, Ugo Carabelli could only manage three more games for the remainder of the match.
"The big thing was just relaxing a little bit," Fritz said after the match of the dramatic scoreline shift between the first and second set. "The first round of the Open, [it's] such a big week. I came out and didn't play the best first game serving, didn't play the best first game serving it out. Just a little bit of nerves. I feel like once I got that first set I just relaxed. The next two sets I was much more myself."
WHAT IT MEANS: Throughout the summer, Fritz enjoyed an enviable run-of-form: In addition to earning the bronze medal in men’s doubles in Paris (with Tommy Paul), he made an appearance in the Round of 16 at the French Open for the first time, captured his eighth career title on the grass at Eastbourne and reached his second Wimbledon quarterfinal in three years. In recent weeks, however, the Californian struggled to find his hard-court game, suffering early round defeats in both Montreal and Cincinnati to lower-ranked compatriots Sebastian Korda and Brandon Nakashima, respectively. Inside Armstrong, however, he got the chance to shake off some of the rust.
He’ll need his best tennis as he next faces 2019 US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini in what could be a blockbuster second round. The American has won all three of his previous matches against the Italian.
MATCH POINT: Both Fritz and Ugo Carabelli attempted tweeners during the match. While Fritz couldn’t keep his shot in the court, the Argentinian successfullygot his back in play—though he ultimately lost the point.
