Taylor Fritz is heading into his 10th U.S. Open, but as the reigning finalist for the first time in his career at a major tournament, he’ll experience something new when he steps foot in Flushing Meadows this year.
The American had the best major outing of his career a year ago in New York, beating players like Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe to reach the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fritz set up a deciding match against No. 1 Jannik Sinner and put together an honorable performance. While he lost to Sinner in three sets, he accomplished something he’d dreamed of his whole career—reaching a major final, specifically at the U.S. Open.
Now, he enters this year’s tournament with a lot of extra eyes and some added pressure on him. Fans are waiting to see if Fritz can repeat what he achieved last year in Queens, and maybe this time hoist the winner’s trophy.
Fritz said he was feeling mixed emotions ahead of the U.S. Open, balancing the jitters that come with the thrill of playing in New York.
“I always feel like I go into the U.S. Open [I’m] really excited, but with some nerves,” Fritz says. “It’s by far the biggest event for all the American guys. I have a lot of confidence there. I want to do well there. I’m excited to go back as the former finalist. I think it’s going to be great to be back on court there.”
As an American, Fritz is accustomed to getting a loud welcome from the U.S. Open crowd. This year, he can expect some booming roars from the crowd as he walks onto the court for his first match as a reigning finalist.
Since last year’s U.S. Open, Fritz has catapulted to No. 4 in the ATP rankings. In November, he reached the final at the ATP World Finals, where he once again lost to Sinner. During this year’s grass court season, Fritz won at Eastbourne and Stuttgart, his ninth and 10th career titles, respectively. Then, at Wimbledon, Fritz advanced to the semifinals, a career-best finish for him at the All England Club, but lost to Carlos Alcaraz.
Still, there’s one feat that looms large over his head—along with every other American male tennis player. An American man hasn’t won a major tournament since Andy Roddick took home the 2003 U.S. Open title. Fritz became the first American man to compete in the U.S. Open final since Roddick in 2009. After coming devastatingly close, Fritz wants to be the one to break that major championship drought. This could be the year he does it.
The pressure that Fritz and the other American men feel at Flushing Meadows is similar to what Andy Murray experienced at Wimbledon for years as he competed to become the first British man to win the tournament after 77 years. Murray arrived in London every year with the weight of the tennis world on his shoulders as fans hoped he would break the long curse.
Murray’s trajectory could foreshadow Fritz’s, with Murray reaching the 2012 Wimbledon final but losing to Roger Federer. Following the match, he had an emotional speech, dropping the memorable line: “I’m getting closer.” He went on to win Wimbledon the following year.
When Fritz lost in the U.S. Open final last year, he spoke to the American crowd and apologized for not being able to get the job done. Similarly to Murray, he knew he was getting closer to achieving his goal. Perhaps Fritz can fulfill the prophecy like Murray did more than a decade ago at Wimbledon.
Regardless of what happens in New York this year, Fritz is trying to stay focused and block out the noise that’s come his way.
“I’m just always trying to improve and get better and just go out and play and take care of my business and not worry too much about everything else,” Fritz says.
Fritz enters the U.S. Open with a humid hard court season under his belt. He finished in the quarterfinals of the Citi Open, the semifinals of the Canadian Open (he lost to fellow American Ben Shelton) and the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open. Even if those tournaments didn’t end with Fritz taking home the hardware, prepping on the surface in the heat gave him an added level of assurance heading into New York.
“I’m feeling confident. As long as I’m feeling confident and good about my game, and go out and just really lock in and compete hard, then I feel pretty good about getting through a lot of matches early,” Fritz says.
More Tennis on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Taylor Fritz Ready to End American Men’s U.S. Open Title Drought.
