WHAT HAPPENED:
Taylor Fritz’s quest to win one more match at the US Open than he did last year got off to a successful start—even if it was a little bumpy at the beginning.
Fritz, the No. 4 seed, won his All-American match against friend and fellow Southern Californian Emilio Nava, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3, in the second match inside Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“There’s a little bit of [pressure and expectation]. It’s never easy coming out to what is the most important tournament for Americans all year,” Fritz said in his on-court interview. “There’s definitely going to be a bit of nerves. Once I get into the matches, get into the first couple of rounds of the tournament, then there’s the confidence that comes in.”
Almost nothing separated the two in a 51-minute first set as Nava (from Los Angeles) matched Fritz (San Diego) toe-to-toe, though that may not have been as much as a surprise at first glance given Nava’s form—reaching a career-high world No. 101 in the latest rankings with three Challenger Tour titles in 2025—coming into the match.
In the power department, Nava was getting the better of the hard-serving Fritz, as a series of Nava forehands during some long rallies pinned Fritz well behind the baseline and had him on the defensive. And at first, when Nava served to stay in the opening frame at 4-5, he more than held his nerve, winning the game at love with four unreturned serves—two of them aces.
Two games later, however, serving at 5-6, Nava blinked. He hit a backhand wide on game point at 40-30, the first of three consecutive points that Fritz rolled off to take the first set. Despite dropping the frame, Nava had more aces (5-4) and considerably more winners (17-10).
“I think I really just settled into the match a bit more. I had a game where I had chances in the first set and I missed some returns,” Fritz said. “With Emilio, with such a big serve, you may not get a lot of chances … Once I found that break, the returns started working more for me.”
The second set was one-way traffic for Fritz, especially when he broke Nava in the latter’s second service game of the frame on a double fault. Fritz won 16 of his 18 points on serve in the frame, and, in the only true threat to his serve in the third set, Fritz saved two break points and eventually held. In the fourth game, Fritz broke Nava with a backhand winner on break point for a 3-1 lead in the set, then held comfortably in his final three service games to wrap things up.
WHAT IT MEANS:
Despite the 97-place gap between the men in the world rankings, Fritz being drawn against a fellow American in Nava brought with it some not-so-great memories in Flushing for the world No. 4. Fritz had lost two of his previous three US Open first-round matches when pitted against compatriots, against Jack Sock in 2016 and Brandon Holt in 2022. (Fritz defeated Steve Johnson in the first round in 2023.)
MATCH POINT:
In the Open Era, seven men have reached the US Open singles final after being the tournament’s runner-up the previous year. Fritz is now attempting to join the club of tennis legends that have pulled off that trick in Queens: Novak Djokovic (2013, 2011), Pete Sampras (2002, 2001, 1992), Ivan Lendl (1989, 1984, 1983), Mats Wilander (1987), Bjorn Borg (1981), Jimmy Connors (1978, 1976) and Tony Roche (1970).
