When Taylor Fritz was 4 years old, his mother, 1978 US Open quarterfinalist Kathy May Fritz, was competing in the champion’s event in Flushing Meadows. Guy Fritz, Taylor’s father and a former touring pro himself, walked his young son out onto the empty court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, the grandest stage in all of tennis.
“One day, you’re going to play on this court,” Guy, who put a racquet in his son’s hands at the age of 2, told Taylor. “You’re going to win matches here.”
To say that Fritz’s match Tuesday against Marcos Baghdatis was a long time coming is an understatement. Taylor says that his father has always had one dream: to watch him win a match at the US Open. So when the 19-year-old took a quick step inside the baseline to blast a cross-court backhand passing shot past the former world No. 8, clinching his first career Grand Slam victory, he made a dream come true.
“It just felt so good. You know, just the emotions of finally winning my first Grand Slam match, I have had to wait a really, really long time for it,” Fritz said. “I told myself to really go for it, and as soon as I hit it, I knew that was going to do it. I don't know, just the rush of emotions, like, that's the best part about tennis.”
Six times previously Fritz had tried to win a Grand Slam main draw match. Six times he had fallen short. It hadn’t helped that the newly minted father of seven-month-old Jordan had played four players ranked 27th or better in those matches. Last season alone, the teenager lost two five-setters to compatriot Jack Sock, including a defeat at the US Open.
“I feel like the way I have played in a lot of my matches I would have beaten a lot of other players,” Fritz said. “I think it just wasn't really meant to be a lot of the other times.”
But there was never a doubt on Wednesday that Fritz would come out on top.
And while falling from a career-high No. 53 before last year’s US Open to his current spot as the 108th-ranked player in the world has not been ideal, Fritz has learned not to dwell on expectations. Two years ago he was the No. 1 junior in the world, having won the boys’ singles crown in Flushing Meadows. Yet it was in that year’s qualifying draw that he suffered one of his greatest disappointments, losing 6-3, 6-3 against Luca Vanni in the opening round.
“I just played a horrendous match because I had so much riding on it. I expected so much of myself,” Fritz said. “Since then, I have kind of learned to just take it easy. Obviously I can't trick myself into thinking, you know, it's not the US Open, it's not a really big deal, but I just try and take it like any other tournament and just try and play my game.”
It is that game that helped Fritz initially burst past a burgeoning army of young American men last season, including the likes of Frances Tiafoe, who pushed Roger Federer to five sets Tuesday. Fritz is the first to say that all of those young Americans were better than him when they were younger.
“For me to be on the same court as them was just a joke,” Fritz told GQ. “I remember once I was practicing with Stefan [Kozlov, ranked No. 141] and they took me off the court because I was so bad.”
But "bad" was not what propelled Fritz from 685th in the rankings the week of the 2015 US Open to No. 53 the same time last summer. That surge helped him earn the ATP Star of Tomorrow Award last November, given to the youngest player in the Top 100. The big-hitting ground-stroker also reached last year’s Memphis final in just his second tour-level event. Fritz has even earned praise from Federer, the 19-time Grand Slam champion.
"He hits a great ball,” Federer said after practicing with Fritz at Wimbledon in 2015. “I predict a good future for him."
That future was momentarily paused when a nagging knee problem kept Fritz out for more than a month at the end of last season, hampering his offseason training. But now that Fritz will be back inside the Top 100 with his first Slam win, a steady rise back to where he was last year may not be far off.
“I’m so proud of you,” Guy told Taylor after he Baghdatis.
A father hugged his son, fighting back tears, standing in the shadow of the stadium court they walked onto 15 years earlier, dreaming of such a moment. Fritz, happy to have his wife and a son of his own in tow, has an opportunity to move one step closer to their dreams Thursday against No. 6 Dominic Thiem.
