Aus Open: Key change that propelled Taylor Fritz into top five
Andy Roddick was the last American man to win a grand slam title in 2003, but there’s a star in prime position to snap that drought.
Tennis
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It’s been 22 years since Andy Roddick brought the last men’s grand slam title home to the US, but Taylor Fritz’s countrymen think the world No.4 has a golden opportunity to snap that drought at Melbourne Park.
Fritz has only dropped eight games in his two straight sets wins to begin his campaign after a career-best season that brought him agonisingly close to a major win on home soil when he met a rampant Jannik Sinner in the US Open final at Flushing Meadows.
The 27-year-old reached a quarter-final in Melbourne last year and can blast his draw wide open if he can find a way around the wily French veteran Gael Monfils in the third round on Saturday.
Fritz spent close to three years on the fringe of the top 10, but in the last 12 months has carved out a permanent top-five berth after lifting his performance during the clay season.
Frances Tiafoe, Fritz’s compatriot whom he beat in a blockbuster semi-final to reach the US Open decider, said the progress Fritz had made on his speed and agility had been “unbelievable”.
“What separates him is he’s done an unbelievable job with moving – he couldn’t put one foot in front of the other growing up, but now he moves really well,” Tiafoe said before his own surprise second-round exit on Thursday.
“He’s always been a great ball striker, but he’s moving really well. He’s having it at the Open, he’s one of the best competitors in the world.
“I don’t think people talk about how well he competes. He hates to lose – he wins a lot of these type of matches that I won (in the first round on Monday) where he’ll die, but he doesn’t really care how it looks … I have a lot of respect for that guy.”
Where the US men’s contingent was once carried by the likes of former Wimbledon semi-finalist Sam Querrey, they had eight players inside the top 50 leading into the Australian Open.
Tiafoe, 26, said they all “pushed each other naturally”, but he didn’t feel any internal rivalry when it came to the world rankings.
“It’s not something like, ‘Oh man, I’m the third American’,” the world No.16 said.
“I want to be at the top of the game point blank … seeing those guys do well, obviously you want that to continue.
“Fritz is fourth in the world, it’s incredible. It’s more I respect that rather than I’m envious of him. I’m just happy for that guy … he’s made a final now, he’s won (a Masters). He’s a guy that, if you want to do something special, you probably have to go through him now.”
Fritz, who said he was excited for “a fun match” against a resurgent Monfils, felt the top of the world rankings were far more open now than they were when he was a younger player.
“The top four or five was pretty ridiculous … we had Rafa, Fed, Novak, Andy, Stan, all those guys at one time … it was pretty tough to break through playing against a top-eight seed,” he said.
“I think maybe now it’s a little more winnable for the younger guys because all the top seeds aren’t some of the best players of all time … that being said, the depth is really strong right now. It’s tough to compare with the different times.”
Originally published as Aus Open: Key change that propelled Taylor Fritz into top five
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