Taylor Fritz is once again very quietly going about his business at the US Open, creeping through the draw with minimal fuss.
It was exactly how the 27-year-old ended up in the final of this event in 2024, and he will be hoping to do the same this year, potentially even going a step further.
After all, whilst he impressed in reaching that stage, his performance in the final was disappointing, swept aside by Jannik Sinner with ease.
There, the Italian confirmed to the world that he was going to take some stopping on hard courts. He has since reaffirmed that notion time and time again.
Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images
However, with Fritz, there have been notable improvements over the last year, physically, mentally and technically.
He has outlined arguably his biggest area of progression, after reaching the third round of the US Open.
Taylor Fritz reacts to reaching the US Open third round
Speaking on court, he began by reviewing his performance to beat Lloyd Harris in four hard-fought sets.
Fritz claimed: “A big thing for me was just certain… I mean, it is windy out here. It’s not easy to play.
“It’s tough to have a rhythm on one side. You have to swing so hard and the balls come at you faster on the other side, you have to get up to it more, and it feels like you hit it at all; it’s going to fly long.
“So it’s tough, and I think a lot of shots for me, weren’t really working, so I just had to take some time to figure out what was kind of in the tool box that I could use and accept that some shots just weren’t there, so I just did a lot better job of, I guess picking and choosing the right balls to go on.”
He then reminisced about winning the junior event at the US Open ten years ago, before reflecting on how far he has come, having just won his 40th match of the season: “Yeah, I think it speaks more to the mental strength of it.
“I think that’s something that I’ve improved on a lot over the last couple of years is, you know, it’s easy to show up every couple of weeks and have a good tournament, but to be a top player, you have to mentally be very dialled in every single week. It’s mentally and physically exhausting, but I’ve done a good job of it lately.”
Fritz concluded by praising the New York crowd: “It’s the best, you know. Those moments when you walk on court into a big stadium, hear the crowd going crazy for you. It’s the stuff you dream of when you were a kid. So thank you, everyone, and let’s keep it going.”
Ben Shelton is pushing Taylor Fritz for the title of American number one
Whilst Coco Gauff is quite comfortably the top-ranked American woman, there is something of a power struggle on the men’s side that has only intensified in recent months.
After all, Fritz was the outstanding option for some time, despite the likes of Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton having all pushed him for that title.
But, with how the latter is currently performing, and having just grabbed his maiden Masters 1000 title too, he is coming for that crown.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
After all, having shot himself to a career-best ranking of fifth after that Canadian Open triumph, having now reached the third round of the US Open, he is within 95 points of Fritz, currently ranked fourth in the world.
Ironically, Shelton beat Fritz in the Canadian Open semi-final on his way to that title.
But, if Shelton is to better his compatriot’s result at this event, he will rise to become the top-ranked American male for just the second time in his career.