Danielle Collins, Taylor Fritz maintain form in Rome; Ben Shelton ousted by Zhang Zhizhen
Sofia Kenin was also unable to extend her stay Sunday at the 1000-level tournament.
It was a mixed bag at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia Sunday for U.S. hopefuls looking to progress in Rome.
Danielle Collins stayed hot, as did Taylor Fritz in winning an all-American contest. But Ben Shelton was sent packing and Sofia Kenin was unable to back up her Top 10 win.
Collins dispatched Caroline Garcia, 6-3, 6-3, capitalizing on five of six break points in moving to 10-0 in sets won against the Frenchwoman.
This year’s Miami and Charleston champion notched her 17th victory in 18 matches as she now looks to book a maiden WTA 1000 clay-court quarterfinal. The 13th seed faces former semifinalist Irina-Camelia Begu Monday in the pair’s first clash since 2018, won by Collins at the Miami Open. Begu routed No. 27 seed Elise Mertens, 6-2, 6-0.
Taking on compatriot Sebastian Korda, Fritz did not face a break point in sailing through, 6-3, 6-4. The No. 11 seed has now won nine of 11 contests on red dirt, following a runner-up showing in Munich and semifinal run at the Mutua Madrid Open. Grigor Dimitrov, who posted a 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Terence Atmane, awaits in the round of 16.
“I just came to Monte Carlo a bit early. Obviously that wasn’t my best week, so I had a lot of extra time to practice. The biggest thing is just being mentally ready, feeling very motivated for this whole swing,” Fritz told ATP Media.
“I felt like a bit earlier in the year, when I was traveling, playing, I kind of was burnt out. Wanted to be home. Maybe that had a play in not playing my best. I’ve just been really motivated and excited to be playing and put some good results on.”
Shelton couldn’t follow suit, as he was upended by Zhang Zhizhen.
The Chinese No. 1 decisively advanced, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the third time. After knocking out consecutive seeded opponents (also Adrian Mannarino), Zhang gets world No. 106 Thiago Monteiro come Tuesday.
Having eliminated ninth-ranked Ons Jabeur in the previous round, Kenin was edged out by qualifier Rebecca Sramkova. The Slovakian prevailed, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.