As his last, desperate backhand soared far past the baseline inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Taylor Fritz instantly held his face in his hands, unable to hide the agony of squandering such a great opportunity. For much of his afternoon, Fritz was cruising. He had established two sets to love lead against Francisco Cerundolo before breaking serve in the opening game of the third.
One unfocused service game was enough to shift the momentum and once Fritz had lost control, he spent another two hours failing to retrieve it. His US Open ended with an excruciating 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 third-round defeat by a courageous Cerundolo. Any early loss at a home grand slam is incredibly difficult to accept, but Fritz’s timing was fatal.
Having been ranked as high as No 4 last year, he is the most successful American male player of his generation. In 2024, Fritz became the first American man to reach the US Open singles final since Andy Roddick in 2006, a breakthrough run sandwiched between two quarter-final losses to Novak Djokovic in 2023 and 2025. The 28-year-old is a tremendously committed and diligent competitor who, despite his own athletic shortcomings, has eked so much out of his game.
There has always been a far superior tennis player, usually an all-time great, standing before him and the major titles. This year’s US Open, however, presents a completely different challenge for most of the men’s field. Jannik Sinner, the world No 1 and four-time grand slam champion, is absent due to injury and the now 39-year-old Novak Djokovic was dramatically defeated in the first round.
Carlos Alcaraz, the seven-time grand slam champion and defending champion, is competing his first tournament back from a four month injury layoff. In the absence of an obvious favourite in obvious grand slam-winning form, this tournament is such a great opportunity for any player with aspirations of winning a grand slam title. Fritz, who was high up on the list of names hoping to take advantage, was understandably disgusted with the way he let this opportunity slip.
In the deciding set he had three break points for a 5-3 lead and the chance to serve for the match. I kind of just need to get out for a couple days and then just get back to work. I don’t know how I let that happen today.” At the beginning of the day, seven American men remained in the singles draw: Ben Shelton, Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Learner Tien, Tommy Paul, Alex Michelsen and Michael Zheng.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
