Munar Upsets Ailing Fritz

Jaume Munar beat third seed Taylor Fritz 6⁠–⁠7(9⁠–⁠7), 6⁠–⁠4, 6⁠–⁠3 on Thursday, 1 October, at the Japan Open, an ATP 500 hard-court event in Tokyo, in two hours 57 minutes (ATP Tour; AAP). Fritz looked physically limited, receiving treatment early in the second set; Munar saved seven of the eight break points he faced (ATP Tour). The Spaniard’s next match is against Jaime Faria (ATP Tour). Fritz’s push toward the year-end Nitto ATP Finals in Turin took a hit; he sat about 10th in the live race after the loss, with rivals still alive in Tokyo and Beijing (ATP Tour).

An ATP 500 sits between the 250-level weeks and the Masters 1000 events on the men’s tour. A break point is a chance for the returner to win the server’s game; saving seven of eight meant Munar escaped almost every time Fritz pressed on his serve. A tiebreak is the first-to-seven shootout, win by two, when a set reaches six games apiece — here written 6⁠–⁠7(9⁠–⁠7) so both players’ tiebreak points are clear (ATP Tour; AAP). Munar, 29, had let slip six set points in the opening set before Fritz took that shootout; the Spaniard then saved two break points on serve at 3⁠–⁠4 in the second set and closed the match in straight momentum after that (ATP Tour).

“Huge battle today. He is a great player and I have a lot of respect for him,” Munar said afterward. “We have already played three times… Today, I knew he was coming from Europe and it is never easy, but I was just trying to keep focus on my serve and my side of the court” (ATP Tour). The win was Munar’s first in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series after two prior losses to the American. Fritz, the 2022 Japan Open champion, frequently bent between points and needed treatment early in set two; he still produced flashes of power, but Munar stayed steadier through the pressure patches (ATP Tour).

Fritz reached the Nitto ATP Finals title match in 2024 and remains in the hunt for a 2026 berth in Turin, but the Tokyo exit leaves him vulnerable in the PIF ATP Live Race. ATP Tour noted he was currently 10th after the loss and likely to slip further with close competitors still playing in Tokyo and Beijing (ATP Tour). Last week at the Laver Cup in London, Carlos Alcaraz had beaten Fritz 6⁠–⁠3, 4⁠–⁠6, 13⁠–⁠11; Alcaraz, top seed in Tokyo, was scheduled to play American Alex Michelsen later Thursday (ESPN).

Elsewhere in Tokyo on Thursday, Luciano Darderi beat sixth seed Casper Ruud 7⁠–⁠6(3), 6⁠–⁠3 in one hour 48 minutes, and Kyrian Jacquet beat Holger Rune 6⁠–⁠3, 6⁠–⁠1 in 54 minutes in Rune’s first ATP Tour match since October 2025 (ATP Tour). Darderi next faces Jacquet. Also advancing, 2024 Japan Open finalist Ugo Humbert upset fifth seed Brandon Nakashima 6⁠–⁠3, 6⁠–⁠3 in 70 minutes without facing a break point, for a 4⁠–⁠0 Head2Head lead over the American (ATP Tour). Lucky loser Jaime Faria — Munar’s next opponent — had earlier beaten Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery 6⁠–⁠4, 3⁠–⁠6, 6⁠–⁠4 (ATP Tour).

The Japan Open continues through the weekend at Ariake. For Fritz the week ends in the first round; for Munar, a first career win over a top American seed in Tokyo opens a path into the second round against Faria. AAP’s Beijing wire also logged the Fritz score as 6⁠–⁠7 (9⁠–⁠7), 6⁠–⁠4, 6⁠–⁠3, matching the print line used here (AAP).