Taylor Fritz, who won one victory from his second straight trip to the semi-finals at the US Open, must make history Tuesday night.
After a spectacular third-round defeat by Francis Tierfour and the withdrawal of Ben Shelton’s unfortunate injury, Fritz, the last remaining American on the men’s side, will make another turn to the 24-time Grand Slam champion who has never lost in his career in 10 games.
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“That could be good for me. Hopefully the crowd will really come behind me because I’m the last guy,” Fritz said before the match with Djokovic. “Yeah, it’s amazing. I think it’s been a tough week for everyone… I’m happy to be here.
Djokovic dropped three sets (total) against Fritz and although he had no problem breaking the serve, he overwhelmed him with a pack of winners. This is the third time Djokovic and Fritz have met in the majors, and will be their last time in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open.
“The first seven or eight times I played him, I had the best day I’ve ever had and I wasn’t quite a player to really have many opportunities unless he had a bad day,” Fritz said. “Only the last few times we played, I was a better player who could say I compete and have a chance. The last time I played in Shanghai, I had set points in the second set. I probably won the second set and took it to the third set.”
There was a key moment in the second-set tiebreaker where Fritz managed to win, captivated by Djokovic’s 6-4, 7-6 defeat last year in the ATP Masters 1000, but the Serbs were more accurate. Djokovic dropped two sets in New York during the tournament.
Fritz’s path to upset
At his best, Fritz controls the serve and uses opportunistic techniques when trying to break. Whether the backhand winner has a chance to go down the line or try to tire Djokovic by extending points with a slice, Fritz and his team’s keys stick to the game plan and don’t overwhelm one of the world’s greatest ever.
It’s an area that Fritz can potentially exploit, preventing Djokovic from trying to prevent him from finding rhythm, using a crafty return and lob combination. Djokovic needs three more wins to grab his fifth US open title.
“In the latest matches we had, there was a look. I couldn’t make it happen at the key moments of those matches,” Fritz said. “That’s what makes the best guy the best guy. They’re not going to give it to you in that moment. You have to take it.”
