8He gained two spots on veteran John Isner to become the new American No.1 but Taylor Fritz has little time to savor that moment, much less celebrate it.

The current World Number 30 lost his last-four tie in the Cagliari clay court event against Italian Lorenzo Sonego shortly back and has to immediately switch focus to Monte Carlo where he has been handed a tough draw.

Taylor Fritz faces a formidable opponent in Roberto Bautista Agut in his Monte Carlo opener

The 23-year-old American will open his campaign against World Number 11 Roberto Bautista Agut in the French principality.

Though his run to the semifinals in the Italian city will stand him in good stead ahead of the upcoming Masters 1000, he will know that in Agut, he faces an opponent who is similarly skilled on soil as he is on grass and concrete. 

The Spaniard’s last Tour action saw him reach the last-four of the prestigious Miami Open.

Though he fell to eventual runners-up Jannik Sinner, the 32-year-old scalped the big-serving Isner and World No.2 Daniil Medvedev on the way to reaching the semifinals.

The Russian, who was coming off two successive Masters 1000 championship wins in Paris and London last year, was simply no match for the Spaniard in Miami as he went down 4-6, 2-6.

Roberto Bautista Agut holds a 4-1 head-to-head lead over Taylor Fritz

Agut earlier finished as the runners-up at Qatar Open as well as in ATP Marseille, underlining a fairly consistent run on the circuit this year.

Following his third-round exit at this year’s Australian Open, Fritz reached the semifinals in Qatar and the fourth round in Dubai and Miami, in what was a faltering, yet not altogether an unsuccessful run.

However, what stood out in his campaign at Melbourne Park was the way he took the fight to eventual champion Novak Djokovic, stretching him to five seats.

But it is the Spaniard who will start as the favorite in the Monte Carlo clash.

Reason? Agut currently holds a 4-1 lead in five head-to-head battles between the two stars.

Their last meeting came at the Halle grass court event in 2019, with Agut prevailing 7-6, 6-0.

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Although head-to-head record seldom determines the outcome on a given day, expect the Spaniard to put on another show against the American at Monte Carlo on Sunday.