Japan Open on Saturday. The American, who reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the U.S. Open in September, reached his second title-decider of the season despite a poor second set in his victory. "It was a weird match, but happy to get through," said the 24-year-old. "In these kind of matches ...
it's not always gonna be pretty, it's not always gonna be your best stuff, but a win is what matters." Kwon looked nervous at times in the opener and struggled to handle Tiafoe's deft mix of accuracy, touch and power as the American rattled off five games in a row before claiming the set 6-2.
But the South Korean then swept the second set 6-0. Fourth-seeded Tiafoe upped the ante in the third, winning the two break points he needed to serve for the match at 5-2, only to stumble once more.
The American sealed the win at the second time of asking with a cross-court forehand. Third-seeded Fritz downed Canada's Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the second semi-final.