For the second consecutive year, Taylor Fritz has advanced to the US Open quarterfinals.
After losing the first set to No. 8 Casper Ruud, the 12th-seeded Fritz rallied to win the next three sets to finish off a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 upset victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday.
With the victory, Fritz avenges a four-set loss to Ruud at the French Open this past spring. At the time, Fritz claimed he was struggling with an injury. When asked about facing Ruud again, Fritz said he was confident about winning in Queens if he played like he did at Roland Garros — especially on a hardcourt surface.
Going down in the first set didn’t rattle Fritz, but showed him that he needed to play better and keep fighting. Eventually, he overpowered Ruud with his serve and forehand.
“I just had to stay in it because I felt like he outplayed me in the first set. I had some chances, he had some chances and he took them,” said Fritz in his post-match interview.
“He was playing well and I did a really good job to fight at the start of the second to get through some tight service games and apply some scoreboard pressure,” he added. “I feel his level then maybe dropped a little bit. I was getting more looks on second serves and I could just get through it from there.”
An extremely supportive crowd also appeared to give Fritz energy as it became apparent that he would overcome Ruud in the third set. No American man has won the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.
“I’m taking it one match at a time,” Fritz said when asked how he felt about his chances. “I came into the tournament in 2022 saying I think I could win it and I lost first round! I think it’s good to take it one match at a time.”
In 2022, Fritz was the No. 10 seed and lost to qualifier Brandon Holt in four sets.
Fritz has reached the quarterfinals in three Grand Slam tournaments this year, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He will face the winner of the match between fellow American Brandon Nakashima and No. 4 Alexander Zverev on Tuesday. A win would put him in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in his career.
