Taylor Fritz tore through his US Open second round on Thursday, overpowering Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in just 98 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The American lost only two games and never allowed Bellucci a foothold.
Ranked No. 10 and seeded ninth, Fritz followed his straight-sets opener against fellow American Darwin Blanch by converting eight of 15 break chances and saving all three he faced. The 28-year-old moved to 2-0 in his series against the left-hander and became the fourth man to reach 200 tour-level hard-court wins this decade, joining Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, and Andrey Rublev.
Fritz’s Major Title Ambition
Fritz, runner-up in New York in 2024, is chasing his first major title and trying to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick in 2003. He improved to 33-15 this season and 19-5 on U.S. courts, and will meet Francisco Cerundolo in the third round.
Cerundolo, the No. 24 seed from Argentina, outlasted Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a match that stretched three hours and 54 minutes.
Elsewhere, fifth seed Flavio Cobolli came from a set down to defeat Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. After needing a two-set comeback in his opening match, the Roland Garros finalist again steadied himself, lifting his level after the first set and punctuating the performance with a forward-facing tweener lob early in the third. He closed it out in two hours and 42 minutes, striking 43 winners to Schoolkate’s 29. Schoolkate, ranked No. 180, was attempting to become the lowest-ranked player to beat a Top 10 opponent at a major since 2020.
Cobolli next faces Alexander Blockx, who beat Marco Trungelliti 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time. With the competition heating up, fans are eager to see how these players will perform in the upcoming rounds.