World number five Taylor Fritz maintained his impressive form ahead of Wimbledon by securing a spot in his fourth Eastbourne final with a determined victory. The reigning champion triumphed over Spanish world number 28 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, setting up a showdown against fellow American Jenson Brooksby on Saturday, taylor fritz.
Brooksby, who entered the tournament as a lucky loser, is experiencing a remarkable journey at Eastbourne after being eliminated in the second round of qualifying. The world number 149 rallied back from a set down to overcome French fourth seed Ugo Humbert, winning 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-4 earlier on Friday, taylor fritz.
Fritz, who triumphed over world number three Alexander Zverev in the Stuttgart Open final just 12 days ago, is considered one of the top contenders for the Wimbledon title. As a quarter-finalist from last year, he is set to kick off his Wimbledon journey against French player and world number 36 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Monday, taylor fritz.
In recent years, Fritz has dominated the Eastbourne men’s singles title, clinching victory in three of the last five tournaments. On Thursday, he managed to win two matches in a single day after his second-round match was postponed due to bad light the previous day. “I always feel like things are going to work out for me because they always do for some reason here,” Fritz shared during his on-court interview. “Just being here, on site, and playing on centre court gives me that extra boost of confidence, taylor fritz.”
Britons Cash and Glasspool have been named the champions of the doubles event.
In a notable event at Eastbourne, British tennis team Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool claimed the men’s doubles title, overcoming the Uruguayan-Belgian pairing of Ariel Behar and Joran Vliegen with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). This victory marks their fifth title since joining forces in October 2024, and it comes just five days after they secured a historic doubles crown at Queen’s.
Earlier this month, Cash and Glasspool also made it to the finals of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in the Netherlands. As the fifth seeds at Wimbledon, they are set to face the Dutch duo of Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp in their opening match.
Finals forecasts and anticipations: taylor fritz vs. Brooksby, Griekspoor vs. Moutet
The final two matches leading up to Wimbledon are set to take place on Saturday, with titles up for grabs in both Eastbourne and Mallorca. In Eastbourne, it’s Taylor Fritz going up against Jenson Brooksby, while in Mallorca, Tallon Griekspoor faces Corentin Moutet.
Eastbourne Open: (1) Taylor Fritz vs. (LL) Jenson Brooksby
The reigning champion of Eastbourne is just one victory away from clinching his fourth title at this event, and notably, his fourth in the last six appearances at what many consider his favorite tournament outside the Grand Slams and Masters 1000s. However, this year has presented its challenges. Fritz overcame Joao Fonseca with a score of 7-5 in the third set and followed it up with another 7-5 victory over Marcos Giron on the same day (his match against Fonseca had been interrupted by darkness). In the semifinals, he triumphed over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Next on the agenda for the world No. 5 this Saturday is a third encounter with Brooksby, who appeared to be out of the competition after his loss to Aleksandar Vukic in the final round of qualifying. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old secured a lucky-loser position following Alexander Bublik’s withdrawal…and the rest is history. Brooksby has advanced to his second ATP final, achieving this by overcoming Francisco Comesana, Nuno Borges, Dan Evans, and Ugo Humbert.
These two American players last met at this season’s Australian Open, where Fritz dominated with a score of 6-2, 6-0, 6-3, shortly after Brooksby returned from a two-year suspension. Fast forward five months, and a different Brooksby will take the court; however, he carries a 1-3 record in ATP finals, while Fritz remains nearly invincible in Eastbourne.
