If you were courtside with the thousands of tennis fans at the Nexo Dallas Open on Saturday, you saw some of the most intense matches of the tournament so far.
The semifinals at the Ford Center in Frisco are wrapping up, and the day delivered everything from near‑upsets to a Grand Slam champion turning back the clock.
Cilic shows veteran form in straight‑sets win
In the first quarterfinal, 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Čilić powered past Jack Pinnington Jones in straight sets. Čilić, now 37, is chasing his first title in more than two years – and as the only Grand Slam winner in the field, he reminded everyone why he’s still dangerous deep in tournaments.
“It goes really to the top,” Čilić said of his first experience at the Dallas Open. “The tournament has done a really incredible job to make us feel here welcomed.”
Fritz survives a thriller against Korda
The match of the day came in the showdown between top seed Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda, brother of LPGA star Nelly Korda. Korda took the first set in a tiebreaker, pushing Fritz to the edge.
But Fritz clawed back, winning the second set and forcing a decisive third that went all the way to a 6‑6 tiebreaker.
“He was hitting a lot of really good shots,” Fritz said. “I felt like he was just… not missing too much. Returning well. I thought he was playing really well, and I felt I had to play really well to just hang with him.”
Fritz ultimately prevailed, securing his spot in the semifinals.