“It’s not rocket science” – Fritz explains his loss against Djokovic
A despondent Taylor Fritz has been candid about why he lost to Novak Djokovic, with his serve misfiring in his straight sets US Open quarter-finals loss
Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
Another match against Novak Djokovic, and another loss for Taylor Fritz. The American extended his unfortunate head-to-head against the Serbian to 0-8, this time losing on the biggest stage of them all, on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the US Open finals.
With Fritz only once coming close to defeating Djokovic, at the 2021 Australian Open when he forced the 23-time Grand Slam champion to a deciding set, the 25-year-old has explained why, yet again, a one-sided match has unfolded in this head-to-head.
Big serving Fritz fails when it matters most
Across the North American hard-court season, Taylor Fritz has made himself a reputation for serving big under pressure. And yet, when it mattered most, in a Grand Slam quarter-final against the best returner in the sport, the big server fell short.
“Yeah, thoughts on the match. More like I needed to do a lot better on my serve. I need to serve much better and not just give away so many loose points on my serve,” explained Fritz.
“If I could actually serve I think to the standards that I know I can serve to, then, you know, then maybe I could work with something, it would be a closer match.
“Obviously Novak being Novak, he’ll make me feel like I’m serving, you know, worse than I am, but, in other matches I wouldn’t get, I guess, as punished for missing so many first serves. I can maybe get away with it, but with him, I have to serve better than 50 percent, and I have to hit my spots better. That’s just how it is.”
Djokovic preys on Fritz’s second serve
Taylor Fritz did serve better than 50 percent, but barely, making 55 percent of his first serves and winning 73 percent of first serve points. These numbers are significantly down on Fritz’s previous matches, with the Los Angeles native failing to lose a set ahead of this clash.
“It’s not rocket science,” Fritz continued. “Like, I’m not going to be able to beat him or hang with him when he just gets to return second serves all day or my first serves are just going to him. I need to serve well, I need to hit spots.”
The American’s second serve was brutalised by Djokovic, who won 29 of 40 points, with Fritz only finding success 28 percent of the time when forced to make the shot.
Against a man you’ve failed to beat in seven attempts, this is not going to cut it. And Fritz knows it, with the American summing up how the match unfolded in one apt sentence:
“He was solid, and I didn’t perform well enough on a lot of the big points.”
Next up, Fritz plans to take a week off from tennis, with the 25-year-old hoping that when he returns, he remembers how to serve again.
