Two American Teens Square Off In Indian Wells
Two American Teens Square Off In Indian Wells
Two ‘Next Generation’ players meet at tour-level in the desert
Two young American wild cards, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, meet for the first time on the ATP World Tour at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday.
Tiafoe has always got the better of fellow 18-year-old Fritz in the pair’s three junior meetings. But a lot has changed since their last clash in August 2014 at the USTA Boy’s Under-18 Championships in Kalamazoo.
Fritz, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to No. 80 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, following a run to his first ATP World Tour final at Memphis (l. to Nishikori) in only his third ATP World Tour tournament. At 18 years and 109 days, he became the youngest ATP World Tour finalist since Kei Nishikori won 2008 Delray Beach (18 years, 50 days).
World No. 177 Tiafoe, who is also part of the ATP’s Next Generation campaign, is the youngest player in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 field at 18 years and one month.
It will be only the fourth all-teenager match at the BNP Paribas Open, going back to 2000. The last clash came in the 2007 third round when Novak Djokovic defeated fellow 19-year-old Evgeny Korolev 6-2, 6-1.
Fritz or Tiafoe will play No. 15 seed David Goffin in the second round.