Should Taylor Fritz navigate those notoriously tricky early rounds of a Grand Slam, he’ll go in confident of a strong showing at the US Open. That’s what the American No. 1 indicated to media on Saturday, less than 24 hours before he is expected to arrive on court for his first-round assignment against Emilio Nava.
This time last year, Fritz embarked on a US Open campaign that saw him power into his first major final. There’s residual confidence from that run, which he believes he can tap into should he beat fellow American Nava on Sunday in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“The first maybe round or two there is a bit of nerves, but if you can get past that and settle in, you start to feel that confidence and you have been here before, played well,” Fritz explained. “And that's how it is for me at a lot of big events, would I say.”
Throughout the past 52 weeks, Fritz has established himself as a clear-cut world No. 4 and an increasingly reliable, potent player at the majors. In that time, he has won more than 50 matches. Following a first-round loss at Roland Garros, his winning rate has spiked to almost 81%, thanks to two grass-court titles and a semifinal finish at Wimbledon. Another semifinal followed on the hard courts of Canada, contributing to a win-loss record of 21-5, post-Paris.
Fritz’s high expectations for himself have helped drive his rise inside the top five and evolution into a Grand Slam contender. But Jannik Sinner—who outplayed Fritz in last year’s US Open final—and Carlos Alcaraz also serve as serious motivation.
The world’s top two players have hoarded the past seven major trophies and have already met in four big finals this year, including at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Fritz knows he is probably going to have to go through one, if not both, to break through this year at Flushing Meadows.
“They've both improved a lot. I mean, you would expect it because they're younger, so they're still improving, getting better. They have taken massive strides over the last two years to become very clear, dominant players,” he observed. “I think they motivate the rest of the guys to improve, because you're going to have to improve a lot if you want to beat them and contend for the biggest titles.”
Sinner and Alcaraz have continued the Big Three’s legacy of Grand Slam dominance. From the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2023, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic won 23 of the 27 Grand Slam tournaments staged.
But the US Open has been something of an outlier; the past six editions have been won by six different men, and no man has defended the singles title since Federer in 2008—17 years ago.
Fritz couldn’t confidently explain the reason behind this statistical quirk. ”I think it could just be towards the end of the year, a lot of tennis has been played. People's bodies in different spots,” he offered.
Yet, it may bode well for him. He could become the seventh different winner in as many years in New York—a long-awaited major breakthrough ending a 22-year wait for an American men’s champion.
