By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, September 2, 2023
NEW YORK—A sound floor sport has carried Taylor Fritz into the US Open fourth spherical for the primary time.
Firing up his first serve is the important thing for Fritz unlocking an prolonged keep in Flushing Meadows.
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Fritz drilled 10 aces, gained 30 of 33 first-serve factors and didn’t face a single break level demolishing 206th-ranked Czech Jakub Mensik on his 18th birthday on Friday.
Provided that serving command—Fritz has dropped simply 13 video games by three rounds, his 89 p.c first-serve factors gained leads the event and his 142 mph blast is the second quickest serve of the event behind Ben Shelton’s 148 mph missile and —you may suppose he is being extremely hyper-critical of his serving.
The 25-year-old Fritz, who faces 128th-ranked Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker for a quarterfinal spot, sees it in a different way.
If Fritz is to succeed in his second profession main quarterfinal—and extra—this week he is aware of his wrecking ball serve should be a much bigger weapon.
Why?
As a result of 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, a possible quarterfinal opponent, and reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz are higher in working rallies.
“I feel simply the subsequent step to, like, actually — if we’ll speak about going extraordinarily deep, profitable the event, I feel the serve must be clicking just a little greater than it’s,” Fritz mentioned. “I feel I am getting away with profitable a number of baseline factors and profitable a number of factors on my second serve as a result of simply from the bottom I have been, one, taking part in properly, and simply been a bit higher from the bottom than folks I’ve performed, I really feel like.
“However I feel after I begin to play folks which might be superb from the bottom, I’m going to wish to get extra free factors on my serve and rely extra on my serve. I feel that is the subsequent step, to up that share and serve just a little bit higher if I wish to take out the highest guys.”
Taking out Stricker, a former Roland Garros boys singles and doubles champion, might be difficult too.
The left-handed Stricker has already gained six matches, together with three in qualifying. Stricker stopped Alexei Popyrin, the person who beat Fritz on the Australian Open, within the first spherical earlier than toppling Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas within the second spherical.
There are 4 People within the US Open spherical of 16 for the primary time since 2011. The ninth-seeded Fritz, who joined 2022 semifinalist Frances Tiafoe, AO semifinalist Tommy Paul and AO quarterfinalist Ben Shelton within the fourth spherical mentioned he is not stunned by this American anthem.
In truth, Fritz predicts an American man will attain the ultimate 4.
“I anticipated it. I anticipated Frances and Tommy to maneuver ahead,” Fritz mentioned. “Sure, even yesterday earlier than everybody performed right this moment, I seemed on the draw. This aspect of the draw is loopy. I checked out it for the primary time, the entire thing.
“I used to be like, Wow, certainly one of these guys, on their aspect, is for positive making it to the semifinals. To not put stress on them, however… That is simply what I believed personally. I used to be like, Wow, I’m wondering who it’ll be, however certainly one of them goes to be within the semis, I might say.
“Yeah, we’re all speaking and seeing one another within the locker rooms and stuff. It is cool. We’ll hopefully preserve it going.”
Picture credit score: Brad Penner/USTA
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