Taylor Fritz, the top-ranked American, likes his chances against world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the US Open final. Fritz, ranked 12, will have the house with him when he looks to end the host nation’s 21-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion.
The 6 ft 5′ Californian, armed with a whiplash serve, does a lot of things well on a tennis court, but recently he has sharpened his mental game.The 26-year-old’s fight is in top gear as he showed against compatriot Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals where he rallied to claim a memorable 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win late on Friday.
Fritz teared up during the on-court interview when fellow pro Chris Eubanks reminded him that he would be playing for the title on Sunday. “I get emotional when I’m happy. I cry at happy endings of movies,” said Fritz. “It’s just joy, the crowd cheering and that realization, like wow, I’m in the final of the US Open. It’s a lifelong dream come true.”
Fritz had written a critical note to himself when he lost to Alexander Zverev in the third round at Wimbledon three years ago. ‘Nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you, you are so f**king good, but 40 in the world,’ Fritz wrote, underlining his ranking.
Against Tiafoe, Fritz played a splendid waiting game. He knew if he was patient enough Tiafoe’s level would drop, especially on the forehand side, and he would have the opening. “I was waiting the whole third and fourth sets… When is it going to come? I’m drilling balls to his forehand, he’s drilling them back, whipping me off the court, changing direction,” Fritz said. “Once he started making mistakes, started lifting the ball a little bit more, allowing me to attack more, it calmed me down.”
The 26-year-old, who goes into the final with a 1-1 head-to-head record against Sinner, reckons there will be less pressure on him on Sunday. “It was two Americans in the semifinals (on Friday), both of us wanted to be the guy to make it to the final. It’s a stressful situation to be in,” he said. “I was the favourite, it’s tough to go in with a 6-1 head-to-head record.”
“That’s different from playing the world No. 1 who you’re probably not going to be the favorite against,” he said. “I’ve played well against Jannik. We’re 1-1 (head-to-head). I typically play well against him.”
Sinner, who ended Jack Draper‘s breakthrough run in New York with 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 win in a physical encounter, understands that he’ll be up as much against Fritz as the Arthur Ashe stadium that will be packed to the rafters. “He has a big serve. Very solid from the back of the court. He can hit strong. He can hit with rotation. He can mix up the game very well. He has played a lot this year, he has a lot of match rhythm,” said Sinner, who took a tumble in the semifinals using his hands to cushion the impact of the fall. The 23-year-old received medical attention on his wrist before going on to close out the match in emphatic fashion.
The match-up in the title round is a repeat of the Cincinnati final of a few weeks ago which the No. 1 won in straight sets.
