Taylor Fritz: I really wanted to get win on John Isner

Rising American star Taylor Fritz badly wanted to send fellow compatriot John Isner packing out of the ASB Classic. Fritz, ranked at No. 50 in the world, picked up a surprise win over world No. 1 seed Isner 7-6 (3) 7-6 (5) in the Auckland round-of-16.

Two-time Auckland champion Isner recovered from a break down in the first set to force a tie-break but Fritz kept his focus and composure as he cruised past the tie-break. Isner, 33, won three points in a row to make it 4-4 in the second set tie-break but fell failed to force a decider as Fritz came up clutch when needed most to seal a straight-set win.

Isner previously beat Fritz at the Atlanta Open in 2016 and at Wimbledon a year later. It feels great. Johns beaten me twice before and it was close, Fritz said post-match, per the AAP. I really wanted to get the win on him and I knew I could.

We had a lot of close points and it just feels really good to get through that. Fritz won the most tie-breaks in 2018. I like to think that one of the strengths of my game is playing under pressure and playing the big moments well, Fritz said.

More often than not in the matches I lose thats where I get let down. So Im happy to start every year and today as well playing well under pressure and handling those big moments well.

Fritz is set to clash next against Great Brirains Cameron Norrie Also read: Nick Kyrgios shows humble side ahead of Australian Open