Taylor Fritz needed over two-and-a-half hours to progress to the second round of the Swiss Indoors after being put through his paces by wildcard Valentin Vacherot. 

Fresh from his giant-killing run to the Shanghai Masters title earlier this month, Vacherot bowed out at the first hurdle as top seed Fritz earned a 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 triumph. 

The American registered the first break of the match but was immediately pegged back by Vacherot, who missed the chance to take an unlikely lead in the third game. 

However, he would get himself ahead in what proved to be the final game of the opening set, getting the better of Fritz's serve to take the early advantage. 

A one-hour and one-minute second set would follow, with the encounter swinging in the balance as both players traded breaks of serve in their quest to reach the next round. 

And it was Fritz, who squandered four break points in the ninth game, who drew himself level, though he needed a tie-break to ensure the match went the distance. 

Both players continued to throw everything at each other, but Fritz's experience eventually told as he sealed his progression with a break of serve. He will face Ugo Humbert next. 

Just waiting for the right moment @Taylor_Fritz97 | #SwissIndoorsBasel pic.twitter.com/XnPh8t3NPN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 22, 2025

Fritz will be joined in the second round by Casper Ruud, who had no such trouble against Quentin Halys, with the fourth seed earning a 6-1 7-6 (7-3) victory over the Frenchman. 

Ruud's reward is a clash against home hopeful Stan Wawrinka, who is looking to become the first Swiss winner of the tournament in Basel since Roger Federer in 2019. 

Data Debrief: Fritz surpasses half-century

After losing to Carlos Alcaraz in last week's Six Kings Slam semi-finals, Fritz needed all of his quality to progress to the next round here. 

He has now won 51 matches on the ATP Tour in 2025, the second-most alongside Alex de Minaur. Only Alcaraz (67) has more. 

And Fritz's serve proved to be decisive. He fired 21 aces in the match to Vacherot's 12, while he was also able to save seven of the 11 break points he faced.