2 things that stood out in Frances Tiafoe's 1R win over Aslan Karatsev at Citi Open 2023

Second seed Frances Tiafoe of the USA defeated Aslan Karatsev of Russia 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in the first round of the 2023 Citi Open in Washington on Tuesday, August 1. The match lasted for almost two hours, as the 25-year-old American went through after a gritty contest that was very evenly matched.

There was no break of serve in the match, with both players displaying some quality ball-striking throughout. Tiafoe, who has already won a couple of titles in 2023, looks good to make a deep run into the tournament on his home soil. However, it was a really tough opening match that he had to endure on Tuesday, which, in turn, will give him confidence for the rest of the week.

On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in the match:

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#1 Frances Tiafoe served with a lot of venom

The American kept hitting ferocious serves one after another in the match, which left the 29-year-old Russian stunned. Tiafoe’s first serves regularly breached the 130 kmph mark and clocked a staggering 137 kmph once during the tie-break in the first set.

As a result, Karatsev often found it difficult to return the ball back into play off Tiafoe’s first serves. Hence, he tended to overpress against the American’s second serves and often ended up hitting his return out of the court to gift his opponent some points.

Still, Karatsev had a break point and a set point in the 10th game of the second set, but Tiafoe managed to save it. The American’s superior serve kept giving him the upper hand during the key moments of the match.

#2 Aslan Karatsev’s net-rushing was often counter-productive

Citi Open - Day 4

Karatsev kept rushing the net at times without the desirable result, as Tiafoe managed to pass him on a few occasions with his down-the-line forehand. However, it was the American’s crosscourt forehand that troubled the Russian the most. Tiafoe repeatedly made Karatsev stretch towards the latter’s right side by playing the shot.

At the same time, Karatsev also hit a few thunderous down-the-line winners off either wing. The Russian matched the American mostly in terms of power behind their groundstrokes. Moreover, Karatsev looked to have a better chance of winning the point whenever he was able to move his opponent from side to side by playing the angles. It was a pity for him that he did not do it as often as he would have liked.

Hence, it boiled down to playing well during the crucial moments of the match and Tiafoe did better in that respect. He won both the tie-breaks by hardly losing any point on his serve in them. Karatsev had a slightly better winning percentage on his second serve than the American did, but it was playing well when it mattered the most that saw Tiafoe ultimately prevail.