WHAT HAPPENED: Taylor Fritz entered Friday’s showdown with Argentina’s Francisco Comesana as the heavy favorite. Nearly 100 spots separate them in the rankings and Fritz, the world No. 12 and a tried-and-true veteran of the Grand Slam circuit, has infinite experience at the majors—33 appearances at the Slams compared to only two for the 23-year-old Mar del Plata native.
12th-seeded Fritz used that acquired wisdom well on Friday at the 2024 US Open, and he eventually pulled away from the world No. 108 to earn an uncomplicated 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory and book his spot in the fourth round for the second consecutive year in New York.
“I’m feeling good,” Fritz said after his win. “Two nights ago I was really happy with how I came out and played, and it gave me a lot of confidence coming into today, feeling like I was going to be able to play a solid match.”
Rising Comesana, who will make his Top 100 debut after the US Open, took the play to Fritz in the early stages of the contest.
Brandishing a world-class forehand that produced ten winners on the day, he had a pair of break points to take a 3-2 lead in the opening set. That was the Southern California native’s cue to step it up, and he did so two games later, angling a gorgeous backhand crosscourt passing shot to set up a break point, which he converted moments later for a 5-3 lead.
Fritz fired his second ace of the set out wide to lock up the set in 38 minutes, and broke through again in the fifth game of the second set to put Comesana in deeper trouble.
Fresh off his best career win in the second round, a victory over 17th-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert in four sets, Comesana started confidently but he wasn’t able to match Fritz’s heavy artillery from the baseline as the match progressed.
Though he couldn’t convert any of his three set points while Comesana served to stay alive in the second set (at 3-5), Fritz quickly held in the next game to take a two sets to love lead.
Sensing his moment to strike, the top American reeled off four consecutive games to put the match out of reach. The rest of his afternoon inside Louis Armstrong Stadium was academic for Fritz, who saved all three break points he faced in the two-hour tussle.
“I stayed focused the whole time, stayed on top of it and played really solid,” Fritz said.
The No.12 seed cracked 33 winners against 22 unforced errors. Comesana, who dropped to 4-2 lifetime at the majors, hit 20 winners against 24 unforced errors.
WHAT IT MEANS: Fritz moves one step from making it back-to-back quarterfinals at the US Open. He will face either Norway’s Casper Ruud, the No.8 seed, or unseeded Chinese Shang Juncheng next. If he can come through that round, Fritz will have reached the last eight in four of his last five Grand Slam appearances.
In his best year at the majors to date, the 26-year-old is demonstrating maturity, consistency and resilience in spades. He improved to 14-3 overall at the majors in 2024, and earned his milestone 50th win at the Grand Slam level (50-32).
MATCH POINT: By reaching the Round of 16 in Flushing Meadows, Fritz becomes the first American to make the fourth-round at all four majors in a single season since Andre Agassi in 2003.
