Taylor Fritz routs Mattia Bellucci to move into third round at US Open

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News on Sep 3, 2026

Published in Tennis

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NEW YORK — Mattia Bellucci didn’t stand a chance.

After making easy work of Darwin Blanch in the first round of the US Open, Taylor Fritz continued the trend with a convincing victory over the Italian in the second round Thursday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 6-0, 6-1, 6-1, victory lasted just an hour and 38 minutes under the scorching sun shining over USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Fritz was in control from the start and left no traces of the nerves he said he felt early on in the opening round against Blanch.

Thursday was all business. And Fritz said after the victory he knew from the beginning that each swing with his racket would be efficient.

“For sure I can feel it from the start. You just have a very good feeling when the ball’s on your strings,” he said. “You feel like you have very good control. [The ball is] going where you want it to go. You know your mind’s working well. You know what shot you should be hitting, and you’re not second guessing any decisions you’re making. You know pretty early on. I knew it from the first game. I was hitting my forehand really clean and aggressive.”

The American, ranked No. 9 on tour, was perfect in each service game (10 for 10) while getting an 82% success rate in returns from Bellucci’s serves.

Bellucci, the No. 95 ranked man on tour who defeated Zsombor Piros in straight sets on Monday, showed signs of frustrations early on in the second set after a double fault while down, 1-2. He went on to record another later in the second as he succumbed to Fritz’s sharp performance.

Fritz didn’t have to work too hard from set to set. The first ended in just 35 minutes, Then, the following two ended in 33 and 30 minutes, respectively. The quick finish comes two days after he handled Blanch in an hour and 40 minutes.

“I feel great. I think it is really important to not kill yourself in the first couple matches because you need to have the energy to potentially do that later on in the week,” Fritz said. “At the end of the day, like you do get a day off, but anyone will tell you one day is not enough to recover from a five-set match. It’s just not.

“You can come back and still play good, but it’s just not enough to fully recover. So it’s good to get through these the way that I’ve gotten through these.”

Thursday’s Open match looked totally different from the prior matchup between the two in the quarterfinals of the Boss Open (Stuttgart) in June.

Fritz won that grass surface match, but in much closer fashion — 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. There were no such dramatics this time around.

Fritz said Bellucci played “incredible” during the prior matchup, but New York’s hardcourt conditions made it a much more suitable matchup for the American.

“I think grass makes it so his serve is good enough to where I can’t really get on it, and he’s going to hold a lot more. And I think it’s good for his backhand as well,” Fritz said.

Fritz added he’s able to handle Bellucci’s serve and backhand more on hardcourt, which gives him better opportunities to win rallies.

“Even though I love grass, I do think these conditions are better for me,” Fritz said.

The American now moves on to face Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (No. 25) in the third round of the Open.

Cerundolo defeated Filip Misolic in straight sets before winning a five-setter over Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday.

A Cerundolo upset would put him into the second week of the Grand Slam. But that chance is slim if Fritz can come close to Thursday’s performance in the upcoming match.

“I don’t know if I for sure say I put it up there in like one of the best matches ever played, but like things were definitely clicking for me. I think things felt really really good for me.

“I can’t really nitpick.”