Taylor Fritz reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open on Sunday but suffered a swift straight sets defeat to world number one Jannik Sinner.
As Jannik Sinner fired yet another punishing ball at a big moment through the court, Taylor Fritz’s US Open dream came to an end.
It was a thrilling week for American men’s and women’s tennis, with Emma Navarro, Jessica Pegula, and Fritz all reaching the last four or beyond – stages they’ve never seen in their respective careers.
A fierce semi-final between Frances Tiafoe and Fritz saw the former run out of gas in the decider as he missed out on his second attempt at making the last two in New York.
Fritz was second best in nearly every category in the final however, with the Italian 23-year-old stating his claim as the best men’s hard-court player and adding to the Australian Open title he swept up in January this year.
Lindsay Davenport suggests the future is bright for Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz
Ben Shelton’s run to last year’s semi-finals placed him on the ATP map and despite not matching things this time around, he remains comfortably in the top 20.
Tiafoe’s form coming into the US Open was superb, however the American was the only finalist from Cincinnati who didn’t reach the same stage in New York.
“It’s good to finally have men involved at the highest level. We have been waiting for them for a long time,” Davenport told Sportklub.
“We’re still talking about Andy Roddick, who was the last to enter the final, who was the last to win a Grand Slam.
“I’m happy for both Frances and Taylor, they worked really hard to get this result. I believe that this will be an incentive for them to continuously be in the finals of major tournaments.”
With Fritz moving to within two spots of his career high ranking of fifth and Tiafoe rising back to within six spots of the top 10, both have enjoyed a successful, albeit typically ruthless American hard-court swing.
American tennis is back at the top of the ATP and WTA
It wasn’t to be for American tennis at the US Open in terms of a fresh champion, however there are countless positives to take.
With four of eight semi-finalists in red, white and blue, the home crowd were treated to a thrilling episode of American supremacy.
Tommy Paul went as far to predict exciting things to come for American tennis, with Navarro explaining her own cause for optimism after three of four Toronto semi-finalists were from the US.
Immediate disappointment might feel reasonable, but with a 21-year wait for a new US male major winner tipping over to 22, it feels like the conversation has got caught up with winners and not enough with progress.
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