Fritz cuts short Brooksby's return with commanding win

Fourth seed Taylor Fritz advanced to the Australian Open second round for the seventh consecutive year Tuesday when he truncated the comeback of fellow American Jenson Brooksby with a convincing victory on Day 3 in Melbourne.

Fritz enjoyed a stress-free 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Brooksby, who last saw match action at the 2023 Australian Open.

The 2024 Australian Open quarter-finalist won 83 per cent of first-serve points and clubbed 34 winners to 20 according to Infosys Stats.

“I’m super happy how the match went,” Fritz said.

“It’s never easy playing the first match of Slams with a bit of nerves. I did a good job shaking that off early and getting it done in straights.”

Clinical 🧊

Fritz powers through to the next round with a 6-2 6-0 6-3 win over Brooksby 🥶@australianopen | #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/1eEIuTXosE

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 14, 2025

Fritz, who reached the 2024 US Open final and the title match at the Nitto ATP Finals last November, will next meet the winner of Cristian Garin and Borna Coric.

Brooksby had not played a match since January 2023 as he recovered from wrist surgery and as he served a suspension for missing three anti-doping tests.

In other early action on Day 3 in the Victorian capital, Italy's Matteo Berrettini fired 32 aces as he defeated Cameron Norrie 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in a battle of former Top 10 stars in the PIF ATP Rankings.  Berrettini, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 2022, has advanced to the second week of a major just once in the past two years (Wimbledon 2023).

Berrettini will face another Top 10 opponent in the second round when he meets Dane Holger Rune, who survived China's Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in three hours and 10 minutes. Rune leads his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Berrettini 3-1, having won their past three clashes.

Fritz's countryman Ben Shelton also advanced on Day 3. The 22-year-old beat fellow American Brandon Nakashima 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 to reach the second round for the third consecutive year. Shelton enjoyed a breakthrough run to the quarter-finals in 2023 in Melbourne. He could face Lorenzo Musetti in the third round after the Italian eliminated Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 to reach the second round. Musetti will next play Denis Shapovalov, who rallied past Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(8).