Only two other matches can compare: the 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal and the 2022 Indian Wells finals against the same opponent.
Taylor Fritz, the highest-seeded American in the U.S. Open, puts his next match, Tuesday’s quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic, right there among the biggest of his career.
“I think the toughest thing is just convincing yourself [to] just play within yourself,” the ninth-seeded Fritz said after his 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4 victory over unseeded Dominic Stricker at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday. “I don’t need to find myself trying to hit serves bigger or aiming closer to the lines, stuff like that, because it’s Novak. I think I need to play within myself and trust that if I’m playing well, then that’s going to be enough, and I don’t need to kind of do anything extra.”
It will be a big moment for the 25-year-old Fritz, a chance to reach the semifinals of a major for the first time in his career.
A legend will be standing in his way, the sport’s all-time leader in singles major titles with 23.
The second-seeded Djokovic, a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 winner over Croatia’s Borna Gojo on Sunday, is a perfect seven-for-seven against him.
“Novak’s Novak. It’s tough. I said it on-court, he’s gotten me seven times,” Fritz said. “There’s no one on tour that has any kind of a record like that against me, so I’m hoping one of these times I’ve got to get him. U.S. Open quarters would be a pretty good time to get him.”
Fritz is a major part of this big U.S. Open for the American men, the first time since 2005 that three of them have advanced to the final eight.
The other two, No. 10 Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, will face one another in the same part of the draw as Djokovic and Fritz.
By the time his match began, Tiafoe and Shelton had already advanced.
Fritz proceeded to make quick work of Stricker, needing just two hours and 13 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals in Flushing.
Fritz lost his serve just once, pumped in 17 aces and blasted 35 winners in the relatively easy victory.
“I wouldn’t say it added more pressure,” he said of the victories by his countrymen. “I’d say it motivated me more because I didn’t want to be the one to not make it, especially when I am the favorite in the match to get through that draw. So I obviously wanted to be a part of the group of guys in the quarterfinals. I called it, like, two rounds ago. I said, ‘Hey, there’s definitely going to be an American in the semifinals on that side.’ ”
There could be two Americans in the semifinals, but that would take Fritz beating Djokovic for the first time, which is obviously no easy feat.
Fritz is entering this matchup playing very well.
He hasn’t dropped a set in the tournament and won the Atlanta Open at the end of July, his second tour-level title of the season.
They met recently at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, a straight-set Djokovic victory.
“I’m kind of glad for that because I think that I’ll be in a much better head space approaching this match,” Fritz said. “I’ve lost seven times to him. I have nothing to lose. I’m not going to overplay. I’m not going to do anything different because I’m playing Novak. I’m going to play my game, play within myself, and trust that if I play well, that it’s enough.”