Top American Taylor Fritz: ‘I Think That Americans Can Contend For Grand Slams Right Now’

SportsMoney Top American Taylor Fritz: ‘I Think That Americans Can Contend For Grand Slams Right Now’ Adam Zagoria Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I’m a basketball and tennis insider New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 26, 2022, 08:57am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 15: Taylor Fritz of the United States celebrates after defeating .

. . [+] Alexander Zverev of Germany in a match on Day 12 of the BNP Paribas Open on October 15, 2021 in Indian Wells, California.

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Getty Images Last month at Wimbledon, four American men reached the fourth round for the first time since 1999 and Taylor Fritz went one round further, becoming the first American man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2020 Australian Open. With the U.

S. Open set to begin Monday, the 24-year-old Californian is hoping to lead this rising tide of American men on another deep run in New York. “I think that Americans can contend for Grand Slams right now,” he said in a phone interview to help promote one of his sponsors, Optimum Nutrition.

“I think there was a long period where it was just basically [Roger] Federer, [Novak] Djokovic, [ Rafael] Nadal , [Andy] Murray and it was always going to be one of those guys. “I think now times are changing a bit, there’s no one that’s overly dominant right now so I feel like anyone between 10 people could win the tournament. ” The 6-foot-5 California native is ranked No.

12 in the world and is the seventh favorite to win the title. He opens the tournament against a qualifier. “I feel really confident,” he said.

“I feel like I’ve kind of dealt with injuries on and off leading up so a big focus for me in the last couple weeks is getting to train a lot, in the gym a lot, to kind of build that base back up because I think right now the tennis is there. What I need to make sure I’m going to be all there with is the fitness and feeling like I’m healthy. ” MORE FOR YOU WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results: Winners, News And Notes As Roman Reigns Beats The Demon The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Top Spot From PSG’s Lionel Messi The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The San Francisco 49ers Fritz has enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, winning 35 of 49 matches, including two titles.

After reaching the fourth round of a major at the Australian Open for the first time, he won his maiden Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, where he ended Nadal’s 20-0 start to the season. At Wimbledon, Fritz was twice a game away from reaching the semifinals before an injured Nadal dug deep, recovering from two sets to one down to triumph in a fifth-set tiebreak . (Nadal ended up withdrawing ahead of his semifinal with Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal tear.

) Earlier this month at the Citi Open in Washington, D. C. , Fritz retired midway through his Round of 16 clash against Britain’s Dan Evans.

Evans led 3-6, 7-6(6), 4-1 when Fritz collapsed from exhaustion due to the hot and humid conditions in Washington and had to abandon the match. Fritz later apologized on social media. “First off health wise, I’m okay,” he said.

“I feel embarrassed not being able to finish a match. I’ve never pulled out of a match in my life but after my episode in Toronto last year where I pushed myself to finish the match and almost passed out, I assured my team I would pull out if similar symptoms happened again. ” Earlier this month at Cincinnati, Fritz beat Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 6-2 in the second round before falling to world No.

1 Daniil Medvedev 7-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Fritz credits Optimum Nutrition, especially their G old Standard Ready to Drink Protein Shake , with helping him to maintain his fitness. “It’s great to have something that’s so easy,” he said of the shakes.

“It’s in a really easy to-go carton and I just take it and I can kind of have it whenever. It’s awesome after I finish my gym sessions. I always feel great.

” As for the American men, Fritz is one of seven Americans currently ranked in the top 50 in the world. Frances Tiafoe is No. 24, Reilly Opelka (who withdrew from the Open with an injury) is 28, Tommy Paul 33, Maxime Cressy 34, Jenson Brooksby 43 and John Isner 48.

Six others are ranked in the Top 100, including No. 52 Sebastian Korda and No. 69 Brandon Nakashima.

Tiafoe, Paul and Nakashima all reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. Ben Shelton, who won the NCAA singles title at Florida and is the son of former tour player Bryan Shelton, is now ranked No. 171 in the world and recently beat then world-No.

5 Casper Ruud in Cincinnati. “I’m gonna say Ben Shelton in a year from now should be top 30 and I’m gonna say 24-36 months, I believe this kid has top-5 in the world potential,” ESPN’s Brad Gilbert said on air. INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Taylor Fritz of the United States celebrates match point .

. . [+] against Jannik Sinner of Italy during their fourth round match on Day 10 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on October 13, 2021 in Indian Wells, California.

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Getty Images Fritz believes the Americans are poised for another group run in New York. “I see several Americans in the round of 16, just like there were at Wimbledon, and then I feel pretty confident that at least one of us will make the quarterfinals, maybe more,” Fritz said. Six-time U.

S. Open champion Chrissie Evert believes the New York crowd will lift up the American men and women. “Americans always seem to play well here with the crowd,” she said on ESPN.

“The crowd always encourages them, even if they’re tired, they lift up the player. Look for the Americans to do well the next two weeks. ” NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 28: Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot during his Men’s Singles .

. . [+] second round match against Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina on day three of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Getty Images The fact that 21-time major champion Novak Djokovic is not allowed into the U. S. because he’s unvaccinated means the tournament is more wide open, Fritz said.

“I think at the end of the day, he’s the best player in the world and would be the clear favorite to win the U. S. Open if he was allowed to play,” Fritz said of Djokovic.

Without Djokovic, “It’s the most spread out everyone’s chance of winning are for a long, long time, and honestly I think that makes it more exciting than ever. ” Follow me on Twitter . Check out my website .

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