Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz becomes first player into Final 4 at UTS Los Angeles

Taylor Fritz has qualified for the UTS Los Angeles semi-finals, defeating Diego Schwartzman and eliminating Benoit Paire from the tournament at the same time

Fritz UTS Los Angeles (c) Thierry Breton / Panoramic

Bren Gray

July 23, 2023

In his UTS debut, Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz fell agonisingly close to claiming the title, losing to France’s Corentin Moutet in the final of UTS 4. Today, playing in front of a home crowd at UTS 5 in Los Angeles, it was clear that Fritz meant business.

A spot in the semi-finals was on the line against Diego “El Peque” Schwartzman, and when asked mid-match how badly he wanted to win, The Hotshot replied: “Really badly. I remember at the last UTS, I really wanted that trophy, such a cool trophy.”

This intent was clear from the first point, with The Hotshot looking laser-focused as he ripped forehand returns off El Peque’s slower serve and lived up to his UTS nickname. After blitzing through the opening quarter against Schwartzman, Fritz shared his philosophy towards the UTS bonus card, which makes one point worth three when played:

“It amplifies that big pressure point, and I’m usually pretty good at those.”

“It counts, and I always want to win!”

“I’ve been using it to extend a lead when I have it.”

On trend with the other matches this weekend, this was not to be a straight quarters match. Declaring, “It counts, and I always want to win!” El Peque fought back valiantly to take this contest the distance.

It’s not often that Taylor Fritz loses his cool and breaks a racquet, but he almost did that after conceding a big lead in the third quarter. For a man who claimed between quarters to enjoy pressure, The Hotshot certainly seemed to be struggling against the silky-smooth skillset of Schwartzman.

“I don’t know how it’s possible to miss that many balls… All his go in by half an inch,” vented a frustrated Fritz between quarters. “I was in a worse spot yesterday, so it’s all good.”

The American was correct, however — it was all good. Yet another sudden death occurred, and Fritz held his nerves to claim consecutive points alongside a spot in the semi-finals on Sunday.

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