Taylor Fritz earned the biggest win of his career on Friday evening when he rallied past Frances Tiafoe in five sets to become the first American man to reach the US Open final since Andy Roddick in 2006. It was a special moment for Fritz and his team, led by coach Michael Russell, who gave him a big hug.
“I’m just so proud of the way that he fought in such a difficult match, playing one of your best friends on Tour, and being in a situation where both guys wanted to win so bad,” Russell told ATPTour.com. “There are just so many challenges, and he did such a good job of digging deep and fighting and to get to the US Open final as an American for the first time in so many years, it’s really special”.
Fritz explained after the match that he felt overwhelmed in rallies when Tiafoe took a two-sets-to-one lead. He spoke to Russell, who helped reassure the 26-year-old.
“I just wanted him to have positive energy. He was down two sets to one, but he was on serve up in the fourth. And I just felt like the energy was a little too negative for where the scoreline was,” Russell said just after midnight Saturday morning. “I just wanted to try to give Taylor more energy from myself and the team and just constantly give him that positive feedback to lift him up.
“The crowd was, I want to say, a little more pro-Frances than Taylor, for sure. So just by looking over and seeing us constantly giving those standing ovations and encouragement and motivation to continue the energy and continue to fight like he always does, sometimes it’s just the smallest percentages that can just give you a little extra motivation and energy to keep fighting.
“It worked out great. He was able to squeak out the fourth set, and his level raised and just continued to rise in that fifth set.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/07/02/52/fritz-us-open-2024-sf-roar.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Taylor Fritz” />
Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images
As excited as the team is for Fritz, the job is not done. They are fully focused on putting their player in position to become the first American man to win a major singles title since Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
“It’s all about recovery. Obviously, tonight’s going to be a little later. So it’s all about taking the ice bath that he does, doing the soft tissue [work], good nutrition, good sleep, making sure that’s all adequate,” Russell said. “And then once that’s taken care of, then we’ll have a light practice tomorrow afternoon, and start talking strategy and tactics for Sunday’s match.”
Fritz knows he will face a tough challenge against Jannik Sinner, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Italian won his first major title earlier this year at the Australian Open.
Russell’s work began immediately. Before leaving the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the former World No. 60 was already thinking about the footage he would watch and the analytics he would look at when he returned to the hotel.
“The sooner, the better for me. That’s just the way my mind starts to process the information. I like having it fresh and just being able to strategise and get the ball rolling,” Russell said. “So that way, tomorrow at the practice, we can already talk tactics and strategy. I can get what Taylor’s thoughts are and compare it to what I think. And we can have a good synergy.”
Russell explained that he planned to speak to Fritz about tactics as soon as their car ride to the venue for Saturday’s afternoon hit as well as when he is on the treatment table with physiotherapist Wolfgang Oswald.
Fritz has split two previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Sinner. Both of them came at Indian Wells, where the Italian triumphed in their most recent clash in 2023. Sinner beat Fritz in the quarter-finals 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
“I remember that Taylor played well. It was pretty strong wind, actually, that day, and Jannik did a good job of really being able to punish Taylor when he was against the wind. Taylor struggled to really create a lot of power when he was against the wind, and that was kind of the differentiator in that third set,” Russell said. “Jannik was able to get a few more free points on that side against the wind. But they’ve had great matches.
“Jannik is a big ball-striker. He’s serving well, obviously, coming in with a lot of confidence. That being said, Taylor’s going to have huge crowd support. He really needs to make that work for him and take his power game. He’s going to have pace to work with, with Jannik, and just make him uncomfortable and feel the presence of not only Taylor and the crowd and the whole American support. Just really create an environment that’s uncomfortable.”
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The Sinner across the net Sunday will not be the same player Fritz faced last March. At the time, Sinner was World No. 13. Now he is the runaway first-placed player in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
“He’s serving great. He’s beefed up his first serve and his second serve. I just think he’s more of an all-around player,” Russell said. “He can come in. His transition game has gotten better, and physically he’s better. He’s able to withstand some longer matches, and his body hasn’t broken down as it has in the past. So he’s a very complete player.
“But then again, Taylor’s playing really well, and his game is a lot more complete than it was even six months ago. He’s moving forward better, a lot more explosive, and he’s going to have to come out and do those same things on Sunday.”
What will it take for Fritz to upset Sinner and win the US Open?
“He’s got to serve well. He’s got to be aggressive. He’s got to stay in the moment, use the crowd support, use the energy,” Russell said. “When the opportunity is there, [he needs to] play controlled, aggressive tennis, and look to finish points at net when he can. Just be ready for another battle and compete like he always does.”
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