TOKYO — Taylor Fritz was eliminated from the Japan Open on Thursday after losing to Japanese wild-card Shintaro Mochizuki 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the second round.
The 20-year-old Mochizuki, ranked 215th in the world, trailed 5-2 in the third set before forcing the deciding tiebreaker. It was his first win over a top-10 player.
“I don’t really know what is happening right now,” said Mochizuki, who advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time. “I lost the first set so easy, so quick. Everyone knows he is a great player but I kept fighting and that is all I could do. I am so happy. I don’t know how, but I won the match.”
Mochizuki will next play Alexei Popyrin, who rallied from a set and a break down to beat qualifier Cristian Garin 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Fourth-seeded Alex de Minaur became the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to make 10 tour-level quarterfinals in a season. He beat Diego Schwartzman 6-0, 7-5 .
De Minaur, ranked 13th, will next play either Zhang Zhizhen or Aslan Karatsev.