Taylor Fritz knows his time is now
The question has been asked so many times that it’s become a cliche: When is an American going to win a men’s Grand Slam title in tennis?
“We joke about the question,” 24-year-old Taylor Fritz told The Post ahead of this year’s U.S. Open. “It comes up so much. I’ve been hearing it since I was 18.”
“I don’t think it’s a flag issue,” Frances Tiafoe, also 24, added.
In case you haven’t heard the joke, or you’ve been living in a cave for the last two decades, the last time a men’s player from the U.S. won a major was nearly 20 years ago, when Andy Roddick captured the 2003 U.S. Open, where he beat Juan Carlos Ferrera in straight sets.
What’s happened since?
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, of course. The Big 3 have combined for 62 of their collective 63 majors in that span, with Federer’s 2003 Wimbledon victory the lone stand out.
But with Federer still out as he recovers from knee surgery, Djokovic watching from home because of his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine and Nadal coming off an abdominal tear that knocked him out of the Wimbledon semifinals, there is more than just hope for everyone else.
As for the Americans’ best chances, take your pick.
Six of them in the draw are ranked in the top 50 in the world — Fritz, Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Max Cressy, Jenson Brooksby and Jon Isner. Just outside that group is 52nd-ranked and 22-year-old Sebastian Korda, who many in tennis say has the most talent among the group. But he’s still young and lacks experience on the big stage, having only twice gotten beyond the third round of a major.
Similarly, 19-year-old Ben Shelton is poised to be “The Next Big Thing” in U.S. men’s tennis. The University of Florida alum recently turned pro and in just two months reached his first Challenger final, won his first ATP match and secured his first top-five victory. The future looks bright for the son of former tour player Bryan Shelton, but again, experience.
If there is one American whose time should be now, though, it’s Fritz — and he knows it.
“I’m really over [being] close,” Fritz told The Post. “I’ve been close to beating [the Big 3] for years. I’ve taken that ‘positive’ [of a good match] away too many times. I can’t be happy about almost winning anymore.”
Early in the year, it looked like maybe he was over it. Two months after blowing a two-sets-to-one lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, he knocked off Nadal in straight sets at Indian Wells for his first ATP 1000 Series title. A few months later, he beat Cressy to claim another title at Eastbourne the week before Wimbledon.
Then came another showdown against Nadal, this time at the All England Club. Fritz was twice a game away from knocking out the wounded Spaniard and reaching the semifinals, only to lose in a grueling five-set tiebreak. Going into the match, Fritz felt good given his earlier victory. He left devastated, and pissed off.
“To be able to beat one of those guys when there’s a title on the line and play a clean match and not be scared of it is big,” he told The Post. “I was so much more confident because I’d already beaten him and grass is suited for me. I was more upset that I lost.”
The next month in Washington D.C., though, Fritz was simply “embarrassed” after retiring from heat exhaustion in his Round of 16 match against Dan Evans, who was up 3-6, 7-6(6), 4-1 when he quit. He later apologized on social media.
Perhaps it was a wake-up call.
Earlier this month in Cincinnati, Fritz dusted arguably the hottest player on the planet, Wimbledon runner-up and Citi Open champ Nick Kyrgios, 6-3, 6-2, in the second round. Then against world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, he fell in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
A reputation also persists — Taylor Fritz enjoys being Taylor Fritz a little too much, whether it’s the model girlfriend, starring in a Netflix documentary about life on tour or enjoying the spoils of being young, good looking and talented.
Still, there are reasons for the hard-hitting American with a big forehand to be optimistic when it comes to going deep in Flushing. He’s 35-14 this season, has the two titles on his resume, beaten Nadal once already and has reached at least the fourth round in two of the year’s first three majors.
“If grass isn’t my best surface, hard courts are,” said Fritz, whose best result in the U.S. Open is twice reaching the third round. “I haven’t done historically well this time of year in the past, but I’m also such a different player than I’ve been any other years since end of last year. My game has gone to another level, so I’m excited to go into this for the first time as a different player.”
We’ll see.
At least he doesn’t have to worry about most of The Big 3, and that could go a long way.
“You’re playing in an era of the three best players of all time playing at the same time,” Fritz said. “It’s just now starting to feel like I can contest those guys or win titles. When I was 18 or 19, it was, just hope you get a good draw.”
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