UTS Los Angeles Day 2: Final 4 confirmed in action-packed day
UTS Los Angeles has its Final 4 after two day’s of play, with Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz, Wu “The Great Wall” Yibing, Ben “The Mountain” Shelton and Gael “La Monf” Monfils all set to battle on the tournament’s final day tomorrow.
It was an action-packed day that both started and ended with a dramatic sudden death match, taking all six matches to determine who would play who on Day 3 of UTS Los Angeles.
The day began by The Hotshot edging El Peque 3-2 in a seesaw affair, where a business-like Fritz was determined to right the wrongs of UTS 4.
Round robin – Group A –
The Hotshot
Taylor Fritz
El Peque
Diego Schwartzman
With the victory, Fritz became the first man to secure a spot in the Final 4, leaving one place remaining in Group A.
The boys in Group B battled it out next, with Gael Monfils taking on Alexander Bublik in an absolute exhibition of the Frenchman’s tennis prowess. Defeating his opponent for the loss of no quarters, La Monf handed out the heaviest defeat of the tournament so far to The Bublik Enemy.
Round robin – Group B –
The Bublik Enemy
Alexander Bublik
La Monf
Gaël Monfils
Monfils was also lucky enough to get some style tips from legendary footballer Olivier Giroud, who joined the UTS commentary team in the box for part of the match.
Third onto the court at Dignity Health Sports Park in California were Wu Yibing and Diego Schwartzman, for a riot of a match which saw the Chinese player unleash his full personality on the Los Angeles crowd.
From singing, to dancing, meditating and throwing shade towards King Kyrgios, The Great Wall was on fire with his entertainment factor. Yibing also played some great tennis, taking the match deep into the longest sudden death of the tournament.
Round robin – Group A –
The Great Wall
Wu Yibing
El Peque
Diego Schwartzman
Next, The Rebel and The Hotshot played a dead rubber match in Group A, with Fritz already topping the group and Paire eliminated prior to their meeting. However, the lack of high stakes led to one of the craziest UTS quarters of all-time, with Paire smashing four consecutive balls into the stands, climbing the chair umpire’s ladder (again), and both players peeling off multiple round-the-post shots, all as Mike Tyson watched on.
Round robin – Group A –
The Rebel
Benoit Paire
The Hotshot
Taylor Fritz
The night closed out with two big Group B matches, as Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton looked to seal their places in the Final 4.
Big Foe, with the help of coach King Kyrgios, was unable to overcome a red-hot Alexander Bublik, getting Kyrgios’s coaching career off to an underwhelming start.
Round robin – Group B –
Big Foe
Frances Tiafoe
The Bublik Enemy
Alexander Bublik
Shelton, however, turned it on under the lights and stormed back into contention against La Monf, winning two straight quarters to force a sudden death and top Group B.
Round robin – Group B –
The Mountain
Ben Shelton
La Monf
Gaël Monfils
Results on Day 2 of UTS Los Angeles mean that tomorrow, The Mountain will face The Great Wall in one semi-final, while La Monf and The Hotshot clash in the other.
