NEW YORK – He wanted a Grand Slam title more than anything.
So why shouldn’t Taylor Fritz get it? The kid from Rancho Sante Fe had always achieved what he’d set out to achieve on the tennis court, ever since he picked up a racket.
Now, he wanted a Grand Slam. He’d been close before, reaching a final in the previous 12 months, but still, it was out there.
This isn’t the Taylor Fritz of 2025 we’re talking about. No, this was the exact same situation he was looking out a decade ago, entering the 2015 U.S. Open.
Then as now, Fritz was a threat to win his first major, albeit a Juniors one, possessing a high seed in the draw (he was the No. 1 seed in ’15, the No. 4 seed this year).
Then as now, he’d been agonizingly near to it, losing a final to buddy Tommy Paul at Roland Garros in May, just like he lost a final to Jannik Sinner at the U.S. Open last September.
It had to happen now. And it did. Fritz grabbed the U.S. Open Boys title in the last Slam he was eligible to play (age-wise), and did it over the fellow American who beat him a few months earlier, Tommy Paul.
Sunday, after he dispatched No. 21 seed Tomas Machac in a dominant straight-sets performance, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, Fritz reflected on achieving his dream 10 years ago.
“I think it was one of the first times I put so much pressure on myself, because when you’re playing the juniors, there is like a timer on it. You can only play for so long. I wanted to win a junior slam so bad,” Fritz said. “I lost the finals of French Open, I lost the semis at Wimbledon. I feel like I put so much pressure on myself that week because I wanted that title so, so bad.”
Two years after winning the CIF title at Torrey Pines High School as a freshman, Fritz got that title, gaining some revenge over Paul, his good friend and now fellow member of the ATP Tour world Top 20 rankings.
“In the end, that made it even more special that I was able to come through and win the tournament,” Fritz said of the self-imposed pressure of 2015. “I still think regardless of what else happens in my career, that will always still be, like, one of the happiest moments, I’d say, for me for sure. It was such a big deal. “
It remains to be seen if Fritz can make magic happen again here at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center a decade later, but if he plays like he did in the twilight of Sunday afternoon, he’ll have a shot.
Fritz had no trouble with Machac, dominating on serve and giving the fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium a nice breather after the drama-filled match that preceded him, Taylor Townsend’s thriller against Barbora Krejickova.
“I thought it was definitely the best match I have played so far this tournament,” Fritz said. “He made some mistakes at, I guess, good times for me, but, you know, it was a really good mix between me being consistent and me pulling the trigger, being aggressive. “
Fritz now has reached the quarterfinals at his home Slam for the third straight time, and now gets to play Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, most likely on Tuesday evening.
Djokovic has beaten Fritz all 10 times they’ve played.
“I think the first, almost like seven or eight times I played him, I probably just wasn’t a good-enough player to really have that much of a chance unless I have the best day ever and he has a bad day,” Fritz said. “I think only the last couple times we’ve played I think I’ve been this just better player that can, you know, I’d say compete and have chances.
“You know, I don’t look at it like, I don’t know — I don’t look at it like he’s more vulnerable than before,” Fritz added. “I look at it as the same, but I also look it that I’ve improved a lot as a player.”
