Fritz Ends Halys' Run in Stuttgart
Fritz, the second seed, faced Halys on the center court of the Stuttgart tournament. The two players had already met earlier this season, with the Frenchman winning in Geneva (6-4, 7-6).
Unsurprisingly, the American triumphed over the Frenchman to advance to the quarterfinals in Germany. After a dominant first set, the 27-year-old had to work harder in the second to overcome the world No. 47 (6-3, 7-6). Halys served exceptionally well to force a tie-break against the 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist.
Halys was coming off an encouraging performance at Roland-Garros, where he was eliminated in the third round by world No. 10 Rune after a hard-fought five-setter. Fritz, meanwhile, exited Paris early, losing his opening match to Altmaier.
In the next round, Fritz will face Hungary’s Fucsovics, who knocked out another Frenchman, Rinderknech. The American will also look to rebound from an inconsistent first half of the season, marked by early exits in Australia, Rome, and Roland-Garros, as mentioned earlier.
Stuttgart 
