In a sense, is that the players who reached the finals at the Grand Slams were satisfied. Or, if they lose, then they can be seriously disappointed? Both Americans, Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula lost at the 2024 US Open finals when he went down versus Jannik Sinner in three sets, and she lost against Aryna Sabalenka in two sets. It was somewhat close, but not close enough.
Perhaps in 2025, the Americans will win a Slam for the first time, but you never know. They are not that young, and for sure, they have improved a lot, but each month, the players globally push themselves, and they improve a lot, such as the Italian Sinner and the Belarussian Sabalenka.
The 23-year-old Sinner has won two Grand Slams, and Sabalenka has won three. That is very impressive, on the top of the baseline, crushing it from their massive forehand and backhand. Right now, they are better players than Fritz and Pegula.
In the third set, Fritz broke him, and he did have a chance to win the set, but Sinner attacked him again, very deep, and broke him. See ya. He won it 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. Hello.
“I’d say he’s improved a little since I beat him in straight sets at Indian Wells in 2021. The biggest improvement by far is his serve,” Fritz said.
“I played last year in Indian Wells, and he had already improved his serve. I think he was very, very good at that point, and he had just been injured and pulled out of many tournaments when he was already deep into it. He was very close to improving now with confidence and winning, but I think he was very close to the level at that point; he had yet to show all the results. If I want to go to, like, the 2021 Indian Wells, yeah, the serve and the movement, massive improvements. Then it was also much easier to hurt him from the ground. So he’s much faster and a lot better out of the corners. His serve is really good now.”
It took Sinner a while, but as he said, gradually, he grew up on the court. He was much more solid, and also, a few years ago, he would get angry when he couldn’t put the balls in. Yet this year, he calmed down, and he tried again.
Can Fritz finally win a Slam in 2025? If he does, the last time the American men won it at a Slam was in 2003, when Andy Roddick grabbed it. That was a long time ago. It could be the No. 7 Fritz or someone else. But although he lost at the 2024 US Open, he feels good.
“I think that’s just extremely reassuring to me that I could get to this point, just playing solid tennis. I know there’s still much room for improvement,” Fritz said. “And something I’ve said throughout my entire career, whether it’s when I won my first ATP point or I won my first challenger, or I made my first round of 16 or whatever it is, I’ve always said once I do something once, I just feel a lot more confident in being able to do it again. That’s something that’s always stuck with me. Sometimes, it’s taken me some time to get to a certain achievement, but I’ve always felt like once I’ve done something, I gain a lot of confidence that I can do it again. So it is a great feeling to have gotten to this point, knowing that I’m playing well, but I’m playing very within myself, and I feel like it’s repeatable.”
How about the No. 3 Pegula, who is 30 years old? She played terrific over the past six weeks, winning Toronto, reaching the final in Cincinnati against Sabalenka, and then, another final at the US Open. However, Sabalenka beat her again. She is a better player. Not that much, but more.
However, Pegula could continue to hit the ball harder and serve better, too. Her second serve is so-so, but she has advanced at the net and to put it away.
“My movement and my serve has gotten a little bit better. So I think certain parts may be a little more consistent than they used to be,” Pegula said. “I’m sure there’s other days where maybe I’ve served better. But as far as a baseline, it’s not as much up and down throughout the weeks and through matches. I would say the same for my movement. Not quite, but I think with those other things, maybe that’s why it may seem like I’m playing my best tennis.”
She is, but is it good enough? She did stun the No. 1 Iga Swiatek, and she also beat Karolina Muchova in the semis. Those were two terrific wins. Yet in the final at the US Open, Sabalenka hit some amazing winners at the end, mashing the ball. Pegula could beat her during the fall, or next year, or maybe with the other American, Coco Gauff will start to rise again. Maybe not soon, but soon enough. Pegula is awake.
“I think maybe I handled the moment a little bit better this year, with just having maybe a different perspective of I had a rough start to the year, and I didn’t expect to be doing this well in the hard court swing, and I was able to kind of flip that script,” she said. “So I think when I came here, it was almost less pressure because I was just happy I was in another quarterfinal. My slam record this year was not great. So I think maybe that perspective helped me through that moment, and then I was able to have a great match in the semi, come from behind, and put myself in a chance to win a Grand Slam. I will take a lot of confidence from this.”