Tennis: Unfancied Moriya pushes third seed Fritz at Japan Open

Third seed Taylor Fritz reached the Rakuten Japan Open quarterfinals after being pushed to three sets by unheralded Japanese opponent Hiroki Moriya in an unexpectedly tough second-round battle on Thursday.

World No. 261 Moriya, who entered the main draw as lucky loser, bounced back from a lopsided opening set to stun the 11th-ranked American in the second, eventually going down 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in just under two hours.

The 31-year-old journeyman was left flying the flag for the host country at Ariake Tennis Park following qualifier Rio Noguchi's 6-3, 6-1 loss to Canadian seventh seed Denis Shapovalov earlier in the day.

The 24-year-old Fritz is the highest seed left in the tournament following the surprise first-round exit of top seed Casper Ruud and the withdrawal of No. 2 Cameron Norrie. He will face fifth-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals.

Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios earlier overcame a shaky start to secure a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Poland's Kamil Majchrzak under the closed roof at Ariake Coliseum.

© Kyodo News