Taylor Fritz is a big part of the party the American men have been throwing at the U.S. Open.
Fritz, the ninth seed, rolled into the fourth round after an impressive three-set victory over unseeded Jacob Menzik 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 on Friday night in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
After a first-round exit last year in Flushing Meadows, Fritz has been dominant this time around, securing his third consecutive straight-sets victory.
“Yeah, I felt good,” Fritz said. “I had a clear plan of what I wanted to do, how I wanted to play him, and [I] returned well. I was doing really well and I played a solid match.”
Taylor Fritz of the United States celebrates after defeating Jakub Mensik. Getty ImagesFritz has struggled this season in Grand Slams. He exited in the second round at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and was ousted in the third round at the French Open.
He is fighting to make up for those early exits as the American men attempt to win the U.S. Open for the first time since Andy Roddick captured the title in 2003.
That isn’t lost on Fritz, nor is the fact that he and fellow Americans Tommy Paul (No. 14) and Frances Tiafoe (No. 10) not only have advanced into the fourth round, but also are the highest seeds in their remaining sections of the tournament due to upset losses by No. 4 Holger Runne, No. 5 Casper Ruud, and No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
USA’s Taylor Fritz (R) and Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik (L) shake hands at the net after Fritz’ victory in the US Open tennis tournament men’s singles third round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 1, 2023. AFP via Getty Images“It feels really good. … I expected Francis and Tommy to move forward and even yesterday before everyone played today I looked at the draw, I mean it’s crazy,” Fritz said. “This side of the draw is crazy. And I looked at it for the first time, the whole thing, and I was like ‘Wow.’ Like one of these guys is for sure making it to the semifinals.”
“So, not to put pressure on them,” he added with a laugh. “That’s just what I thought personally. I wonder who it’s going to be but one of them is going to be in the semis I say. We’re all talking and seeing each other in rooms and stuff, it’s cool. We’re going to hopefully keep it going.”
In the round of 16, Fritz is set to face unseeded Dominic Stricker of Switzerland on Sunday. Stricker had a stunning upset victory over Tsitsipas in five sets.
