Tokyo
Taylor Fritz Battles Past Diallo, Leading American Charge into Tokyo Round 2
Korda and Brooksby shine; Machac bows out to Shimabukuro at the ATP 500 showdown
September 25, 2025
Koji Watanabe/Getty Images
Taylor Fritz remains undefeated at 3-0 against Gabriel Diallo in their Lexus ATP Head2Head matchups.
By Jerome Coombe
In a tense opener at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Taylor Fritz narrowly avoided an upset, edging Gabriel Diallo with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
Fresh off his impressive victories at the Laver Cup against Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, Fritz was put on the defensive by Diallo, who landed 16 more winners (40-24) in the contest. However, the second-seeded American showcased his resilience, clinching the match after a two-hour, nine-minute battle.
Taking care of business 🫡 @Taylor_Fritz97 survives the Diallo test to advance to round two. @japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/S2YAcknt7P
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 25, 2025
This victory also enhances Fritz’s prospects for qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for a second consecutive year. He currently stands sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin after reaching the final last year, where he faced off against Jannik Sinner.
“The energy today was my biggest challenge; it was daunting to match the atmosphere from last week’s Laver Cup with Andre [Agassi] and the exuberance from the team,” Fritz said regarding Team World, led by Agassi. “Finding my rhythm was essential, and it turned out to be a very tough match.”
In 2025, Fritz boasts an impressive record of 46-17, trailing only World No. 1 Alcaraz (62) for the most match wins this season. As the 2022 Tokyo champion, he is set to face Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the second round.
Other Americans also made their mark on the day. Sebastian Korda battled back to defeat Marcos Giron with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), while Jenson Brooksby pulled off an upset against sixth seed Ugo Humbert, last year’s finalist, winning 7-6(4), 6-3.
Korda’s win sets up a matchup with Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro, who caused a stir by upsetting fifth seed Tomas Machac, winning 6-3, 7-6(4) in his first tour-level match of the season. Meanwhile, Brooksby faces Luciano Darderi, who eliminated Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka with a score of 7-6(9), 6-3.
After missing the grass swing due to a right shin stress fracture, Korda has climbed seven spots to No. 67 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Brooksby now has 17 tour-level victories this year and is on track to surpass his career-high total of 25 from 2022, the year he reached a stunning peak at World No. 33.
Brandon Nakashima and qualifier Ethan Quinn also emerged victorious on a successful Thursday for American players in Tokyo. Nakashima continued his strong performance following a semi-final appearance in Chengdu, defeating Jordan Thompson 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 6-2, while World No. 81 Quinn upset Alex Michelsen with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-2.
