Taylor Fritz will play his first Grand Slam final on Sunday in New York and he thinks he can beat Jannik Sinner, sending a warning to the reigning world number one.
For the first time since 2006, the United States will have an American player in the men’s final of the US Open. The last time that happened was when Andy Roddick reached the final against Roger Federer, which was 18 years ago.
Fritz was the man who finally did it and he feels very confident. To get there he had to put in a really strong performance against Frances Tiafoe, who was playing incredible tennis, but Fritz managed to win that match in five sets and secure his place in the final.
It will be the first Grand Slam final of his career and having it on his home court will be extremely important for Fritz. The way he has played in the last few weeks makes him feel confident in his level and his abilities, as he admitted after the match that he thinks he can win the final.
Not many would agree with him because Sinner is the reigning world number one on the ATP Tour and played superbly at this year’s US Open.
The Italian will be the big favorite to win the match, but Fritz has his own thoughts on that. Speaking after the match, he said he thinks he’ll just go out there and play well and win the match. It’s a bold statement from the American, but he’s beaten Sinner before and enjoys playing against him.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing against him. I don’t think I’ll be in a more stressful situation than today in terms of playing a final, to be honest. I think today was a lot more stressful than me playing the final.”
“I feel good. I have a feeling that I’m going to go out there and play really well and win. When I play good tennis, I think that level is good enough to win.”
Fritz’s confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere. Fritz has never played a match against Sinner in which he didn’t win at least one set. There’s clearly something going for him in the matchup, and being at home with a huge crowd behind him will no doubt push him to try to do better.
Sinner played like a machine, largely unchallenged by any of his opponents, but it’s a final, and in a final anything can happen. Fritz just thinks they match up well.
“I think I’ve always played well against Jannik. I think we’re 1 and 1. It’s been a while since we played, but last time he took me in three in Indian Wells. I don’t know, he hits, he hits the ball big, he’s like a really hard hitter, but I feel like I always hit the ball really well off his ball.”