US Open: Rock-solid Fritz makes first ever US Open quarter-finals

Taylor Fritz, the No 9 seed, has reached the quarter-finals of the US Open by beating Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Sunday night.

The victory is a significant milestone in two respects: It marks Fritz’s first ever US Open quarter-final in 10 attempts, and is also the first time that three American men have made the quarter-finals at the US Open since 2005.

Fritz will face the winner of the match between Croat qualifier Borna Gojo and Serb Novak Djokovic, the second seed, next.

Rock-solid Fritz continues US Open march

This was by far Taylor Fritz’s toughest test of the US Open so far, with the American losing more games across the course of his two hours, 13 minutes against Dominic Stricker than he had in his three previous matches combined.

However, the outcome was still the same – a straight sets victory for Fritz, powered by a rock-solid first serve, particularly on pressure points.

Noticeable for Fritz this evening was the return of his wicked cross-court, flat backhand, a weapon that he used to great effect when defeating Rafael Nadal and winning Indian Wells last year.

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Across the course of this match, Fritz was tested, but held true, firing 17 aces, 35 winners and only 30 unforced errors.

“I knew it was going to be tough, he’s beaten a lot of good players this week,” said Fritz on court after the match. “That was a battle, that was a really physical, tight three sets that really just came down to a couple of points here and there.”

First US Open quarter-final for Fritz

The American continued, expressing his excitement at the new career milestone this victory unlocks:

“Super pumped to be in the quarters. It feels amazing, since my last quarter-final I’ve had a lot of struggles at slams, so there’s no other place I’d rather do it, go on a run in a slam, than the USA.”

Up next, the 25-year-old is likely to face Novak Djokovic, against whom he has a 0-7 head-to-head.

“Novak’s gotten me a lot,” Fritz said of the upcoming clash. “but I think one of these times I’m going to get him. So I’ll keep trying. If it comes to that, I’ve got nothing to lose, so I’m going to go out there, have fun and play my best tennis.”

Ahead of his victory, the American won against wildcard Steve Johnson (6-2, 6-1, 6-2), Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas (6-1, 6-2, 6-2) and qualifier Jakub Mensik (6-1, 6-2, 6-0).

Stricker, ranked No 128, defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin (6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3), Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 7 seed (7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-3) and French wildcard Benjamin Bonzi (2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

New York (Grand Slam), other last 16 results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 44.700.000, most recent results first):

• Alexander Zverev vs. Jannik Sinner
• Daniil Medvedev vs. Alex De Minaur
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Matteo Arnaldi
• Jack Draper vs. Andrey Rublev
• Borna Gojo vs. Novak Djokovic: sunday
• Frances Tiafoe (10) beat Rinky Hijikata (WC): 6-4, 6-1, 6-4
• Ben Shelton beat Tommy Paul (14): 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4