For the second consecutive year, Taylor Fritz has advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open.
After dropping the first set to No. 8 Casper Ruud, the 12th-seeded Fritz rallied to win the next three sets and finish with a surprise 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday.
With this win, Fritz avenges a four-set loss to Ruud at the French Open last spring. At the time, Fritz claimed he was nursing an injury. When asked about facing Ruud again, Fritz said he was Confident of winning in Queens if he played like he did at Roland Garros, especially on a hard court surface.
The loss in the first set did not affect Fritz, but it showed him that he had to play better and keep fighting. In the end, he overcame Ruud with the power of his serve and his forehand.
“I had to keep playing because I felt like he outplayed me in the first set. I had some chances, he had some chances and he took them,” Fritz said in His post-match interview.
“He was playing well and I did a great job fighting back at the beginning of the second set to overcome some tight service games and put some pressure on the scoreboard,” he added. “I feel like his level dropped a little bit. I was getting more opportunities on second serves and I was able to overcome him from there.”
The enthusiastically supportive crowd also seemed to energize Fritz as it became clear he would overtake Ruud in the third set. No American player has won the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.
“I’m going to take it match by match,” Fritz said when asked how he felt about his chances. “I came into the tournament in 2022 saying I thought I could win it and I lost in the first round. I think it’s good to take it match by match.”
In 2022, Fritz was the 10th seed and He lost to qualifier Brandon Holt in four sets.
Fritz has reached the quarterfinals at three Grand Slam tournaments this year, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon. On Tuesday he will face the winner of the match between countryman Brandon Nakashima and No. 4 Alexander Zverev. A win would put him into a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in his career.
