Beyond The Score

The American faces a quarter-final against the man he has yet to beat in ten attempts.

It’s a Sunday night in New York. Taylor Fritz has just made light work of a potentially tricky Tomas Machac. In total, the world number four spent just over an hour and a half on court, an ideal preparation for tomorrow’s quarter-final.

It’s all but certain that Novak Djokovic awaits in the quarter-final.

“The first seven or eight times I played him I wasn’t a good enough player to have a chance against him unless I had my best day ever and he has a bad day. It’s only that last couple times we’ve played that I have been this better player that can compete and have chances. Last time we played in Shanghai, I had looks and set points in the second set. I should have taken it to a third.”

It’s the tournament that means so much for the Californian. He carries the weight of Men’s American tennis on his shoulders. Since Andy Roddick’s only Grand Slam title in 2003, America hasn’t seen another Grand Slam Singles Champion.

Moreover, Taylor Fritz was the first man to reach a singles final since 2006 last year, when he lost in straight sets to Jannik Sinner.

This acts as a stark contrast to the Women’s game. In the 2000’s there have been numerous success stories. The Williams Sisters dominated the scene for so many years, with thirty Grand Slam titles between them. Jennifer Capriati earned three majors to her name plus Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin won maiden Slams in 2017 and 2021. In more recent times, the last four Grand Slam finals have included an American, with Madison Keys winning her first Slam in Melbourne this year, plus Coco Gauff doubling her tally in Paris. Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova both made the final in New York and London.

Of the four, they all currently sit in the top eight. That’s not mentioning the likes of Emma Navarro, Hailey Baptiste, McCartney Kessler, Ashlyn Kreuger or Danielle Collins, all competitive forces on their day. Outwith all those names mentioned, another seven make up the top 100.

So, why such a contrast on the men’s side?

There is talent. Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe know how to make a Grand Slam run. Alex Michelsen, Learner Tien and Jenson Brooksby have all shown promise. Sebastian Korda has been oh so unlucky on the injury front and has the ingredients to be much more as a tennis player. Yet, in terms of Grand Slam success, Fritz and Ben Shelton seem the nation’s best bet. With the latter suffering a shoulder injury, once again, all the pressure falls on the 27-year-old.

It’s a burden he doesn’t shy away from. Instead, he carries it with pride. After last year’s display against Jannik Sinner, where he lost 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, he apologised to the American Crowd.

“Thank you to the fans for everything this week. Being an American at the US Open is just an incredible feeling, feeling that love all week. Thank you so much, I know we’ve been waiting for Champion for a long time. I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done this time But I’m going to keep working and hopefully I’ll get it done next time.”

Novak Djokovic stands in his way for the eleventh time. He is yet to beat him. Fritz insists it’ll be like any other match for him.

“I think the way turn it around is to become a better player. With Coco (and her turning around her head-to-head against Swiatek) she’d say the thing. She would probably tell me that she was better at tennis when she started to reverse the head-to-head.

In my head I’m not thinking of all the loses I had to Novak like five years ago… I was nowhere near the level of player that I am now.

I’m just thinking of myself… in those tight moments, I need to play more to win and not to lose.”

It’s hardly a surprising psychological approach. By telling himself that it’s all about him improving, he maintains control in a situation where he has so greatly struggled.

Fritz is a better player than his 2019 version; there is no doubt of that. In the past three years, he has made a Grand Slam Final, ATP Finals Final and beat Rafael Nadal to win his first Masters title in 2022. His serve has become one of the best on tour, and while his backhand has always been reliable, he has added a lot of aggression on the forehand side, allowing him to punish any short balls and go for the one-two punch on serve.

He has also developed incredible match tightness. Under pressure, he seems able to activate a lockdown mode and retract every ball and wait for opponent mistakes.

Still, his movement remains a part of his game that is slightly behind the other elite stars, which can often be exploited by Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic. His strike zone is more limited; he can’t hit with as much aggression on a sliding open-stance forehand or backhand. Much like his psychological approach, he needs control in the point to utilise that aggression.

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On the other side of the net will be one of the greatest returns the game has ever seen. Fritz, who gets so many free points on his serve, straight away sees one of his main strengths dampened. Furthermore, the consistent depth that Djokovic finds on this shot and general play will make it difficult for Fritz to pull the trigger.

Neither can he rely on the backhand to backhand exchanges, which can prove so useful for him against most of the tour. Djokovic owns one of the best backhands the game has witnessed as well, particularly under pressure.

Admittedly, there are injury issues on Djokovic’s side. At the age of 38, that is customary. In routine wins over Cameron Norrie and Jan-Lennard Struff, back, neck and forearm issues were all present. Yet, it had little impact on performance, and he approaches his eleventh meeting against Taylor Fritz with an air of confidence but understands the importance of staying grounded.

“[It is] still a very long way. For me, [the] past couple of years, I learned one thing [I need to do] right now is to take really one match at a time. And yes, of course I’m dreaming about winning another Slam, and it would be amazing if I do it here.

But I can’t allow myself to go that far with my thinking, because, yeah, I just need to focus on what needs to be done to win a match, next match, next challenge. The last Grand Slam I won was here actually two years ago, so it would be a nice journey in the past couple of years to close the circle here again.”

So, who will progress? Will American Tennis have to wait another year at least for Grand Slam glory on the men’s tour, or will Fritz get one step closer to ending the drought?

It’s hard to see any other result than a Djokovic win, providing he’s fully fit. Yes, he isn’t the all-conquering force of old, but apart from Alcaraz and Sinner, he has still been the best performer at Slams.

Perhaps age will catch up with him. Tennis is a game of small margins and some minor improvements or regressions each way can cause the world of a difference. Or maybe Fritz will bring a different and more effective game plan.

All things considered, though, Djokovic still remains the favourite. A four-set victory may be on the cards.