Taylor Fritz is one win away from making his first career Grand Slam semi-final as he battles Alexander Zverev on Tuesday in the last eight of the US Open.
Both players earned comeback victories in the fourth round this weekend, with the 26-year-old American defeating Casper Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-2, while the finalist at this event in 2020 ousted Brandon Nakashima 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2.
Match preview
© Imago
A trip to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows is within reach for Fritz, who fired an impressive 56 winners on Sunday to advance to this stage of the singles tournament.
Fritz is the first American to make it to the last 16 or further at all four majors in a single season since Andre Agassi in 2003, and he can ensure an American makes the semis on the men's draw for a third successive occasion, with the previous two being Frances Tiafoe (2022) and Ben Shelton (2023).
His serve was virtually unstoppable in his round of 16 clash, with Fritz firing 24 aces while only conceding four to the Norwegian.
That attribute and his powerful groundstrokes have played a massive part in his run to the quarter-finals, with the 26-year-old forcing his opponents into plenty of unforced errors in this competition.
In his four singles matches at the US Open this year, Fritz has only lost one set and been pushed to just one tiebreaker, which he won in round two against Matteo Berrettini.
The man who grew up idolising five-time US Open champion Pete Sampras squandered a one-set lead at Wimbledon in the quarter-finals of the previous Grand Slam, losing sets two, three and five to Lorenzo Musetti.
© Imago
It was another slow start for Alexander Zverev on Sunday, losing the opening set for a second successive encounter at this tournament, with the German coming back strong each time.
As a result, he is off to the quarter-finals for a fourth time in his last four appearances on the men's singles draw at Flushing Meadows, having lost at this stage to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets a year ago.
Zverev came back on Sunday thanks to his strong return game, winning six break points while only conceding one to his opponent.
Getting a break point against him has been increasingly difficult for his opponents on the hard court this year, with Zverev winning 90% of his service games on that surface in 2024.
His service game continues to be an invaluable tool for him at this tournament, with the 12-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist winning 88% of his first serve points on Sunday.
In 2024, Zverev is 2-1 versus Americans in Grand Slams, defeating Alex Michelsen at the Australian Open and beating Marcos Giron at Wimbledon before losing to Fritz in the fourth round at the All England Club.
Tournament so far
Taylor Fritz:
First round: vs. Camilo Ugo Carabelli 7-5 6-1 6-2
Second round: vs. Matteo Berrettini 6-3 7-6 (7-1) 6-1
Third round: vs. Fransciso Comesana 6-3 6-4 6-2
Fourth round: vs. Casper Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-2
Alexander Zverev:
First round: vs. Maximilian Marterer 6-2 6-7 (7-5) 6-3 6-2
Second round: vs. Alexandre Muller 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1
Third round: vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry 5-7 7-5 6-1 6-3
Fourth round: vs. Brandon Nakashima 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2
Head To Head
Citi Open (2016) - Second round- Zverev wins 6-4 6-2
Wimbledon (2018) - Second round- Zverev wins 6-4 5-7 6-7 (7-0) 6-1 6-2
Swiss Indoors (2019) - Second round- Fritz wins 7-6 (9-7) 6-4
Wimbledon (2021) - Third round- Zverev wins 6-7 (7-3) 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
BNP Paribas Open (2021) - Quarter-finals- Fritz wins 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3)
ATP Cup (2022) - Round robin- Zverev wins 6-4 6-4
United Cup (2023) - Round robin - Fritz wins 6-1 6-4
Italian Open (2024) - Quarter-finals - Zverev wins 6-4 6-3
Wimbledon (2024) - Fourth round - Fritz wins 4-6 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-3
The first time these two faced off in a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2018, the 2020 Olympic gold medallist, Zverev, won five break points while the American registered nine double faults.
Nearly three years later to the day, they met again at the All England Club, and the German was too overpowering, hitting 19 aces for the victory.
At that same tournament this year, Fritz cleaned up his service game, failing to register a single double fault and winning 69% of his second serve points, while Zverev only won 47% of his.
We say: Fritz to win in five sets
Both players have overcome adversity and had their service games working, so this one may go down to the wire, but in the end, we believe the home crowd will give Fritz the slight edge.
Joel Lefevre
