Taylor Fritz did an Andy Roddick at the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday as he entered the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the third time in the same year. In 2007, Roddick had a similar season when he also managed to enter the quarterfinal of 3 Grand Slams.
At the Australian Open 2024, Fritz succumbed to the then-defending champion Novak Djokovic in the last 8. Followed by which, at the French Open 2024, ironically the man who ended the American’s campaign in the fourth round, was none other than Casper Ruud. Now at the US Open, in a way, Fritz got his payback by defeating him at the same stage in 4 sets.
Then Fritz then made his way to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, in which he lost a 5-setter to Italian youngster Lorenzo Musetti.
Remarkably, 17 years ago, Roddick too had failed to make it to the Roland Garros quarters. The only difference is that he reached the semifinals in Australia but lost to Roger Federer, who became the champion eventually. It was again Federer who beat him twice in Grand Slams that year, i.e. at the Wimbledon finals and the US Open quarterfinals.
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Fritz’s US Open campaign so far has been nothing short of epic. He remained unbeaten for 9 sets straight, after having completely dominated his first three matches. However, his first set loss of the tournament came in the fourth-round match against Ruud, who started the game on a winning note.
But Fritz was soon to make a comeback and didn’t allow the Norwegian to bounce back as he went on to win three sets straight. The World No.12’s strength lay in his serve and he smashed a total of 24 aces and won 53 of his 63 first-serve points.
Apart from that, Fritz dominated his Norwegian counterpart by breaking him on four of the six occasions presented to him in the match. On this occasion, he took advantage of the fact that Ruud was coming off playing back-to-back 4 and 5 setters respectively.
The American will now be facing the winner of the clash between Brandon Nakashima and Alexander Zverev in the quarters. It can be either an all-American clash or the German might become a hindrance in ensuring at least one American entry in the semi-finals of the American slam.
