Comeback king Taylor Fritz into second consecutive UTS final with sudden death win over Gael Monfils

Taylor Fritz becomes the first player into the UTS Los Angeles final, where he will meet Yibing “The Great Wall” Wu

Fritz UTS Los Angeles (c) Thierry Breton / Panoramic

July 24, 2023

Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz has defeated Gael “La Monf” Monfils in a topsy-turvy Final 4 affair on Day 3 of UTS Los Angeles, securing a spot in his second consecutive UTS final.

For the third time this tournament, Fritz executed a fourth quarter comeback to perfection. After La Monf took 10 minutes to wake up on centre court, the Frenchman finally found his own hotshots and roared back into the match, seizing a 2-1 quarter lead.

No need to run to win a point when you're @Gael_Monfils 😏😜#utstour #uts #tennis pic.twitter.com/8zhOJ0H4eZ
— UTS 🎾 – LA (21-23 July), Frankfurt (15-17 Sept) (@UTShowdown) July 23, 2023

“I put my money on Taylor Fritz.”

“It’s all part of the show,” Monfils’ coach explained when asked about how tired his player looked on court.

There must have been some truth in La Monf’s theatrics however, as the 36-year-old simply didn’t have the gas in the tank to remain competitive with Fritz in the fourth quarter, and ahead of the sudden death duel, Monfils made a surprising declaration:

“I put my money on Taylor Fritz.”

It’s safe to say the French player’s intuition was spot on, because despite some three-figure forehands, La Monf was unable to win the sudden death points, exiting the tournament in the semi-finals.

Call him "The Hotshot"!! See you for the big final @Taylor_Fritz97 💥#utstour #uts #tennis pic.twitter.com/wEVaNyUtiv
— UTS 🎾 – LA (21-23 July), Frankfurt (15-17 Sept) (@UTShowdown) July 24, 2023

The Hotshot will now go on to play Wu “The Great Wall” Yibing, who defeated Ben “The Mountain” Shelton in the other semi-final of UTS Los Angeles on Sunday.

The last survivors 💪

Yibing Wu to face Taylor Fritz in UTS Los Angeles final #UTSTour pic.twitter.com/dg2phxxUlE
— UTS 🎾 – LA (21-23 July), Frankfurt (15-17 Sept) (@UTShowdown) July 24, 2023

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