Rafa’s been a tiebreak beast since he won that epic against Mannerino in Australia. He’d flopped in big tiebreaks since he won Paris in 2020, but lately he’s been reliable, so when it reached a second set tiebreak, and Rafa had it on his racket, it was a clutch moment for Fritz, and that’s what it comes down to. I know we can talk about how they reached that point, and that’s true too, but generally Rafa takes care of the moment, and the final set is often a formality. This time he bunched the forehand volley at 5-4, and Taylor held firm.
Those bloody tiny margins are what kill us. Great for the game though. Unpredictability and new champions. I don’t think that Fritz is gonna become a great player, he’s not gonna win slams, but he’s shown that the era of dominance is ending, and that if the field grow a pair, there’s rich pickings waiting for them…