Taylor Fritz will contest his maiden Grand Slam final on Sunday in New York, and he feels like 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 US Open final. The last time that happened was when Andy Roddick stood in the final against Roger Federer, which was 18 years ago.
Fritz was the man to finally do it, and he is feeling really confident in himself. Getting there took a really strong showing against Frances Tiafoe, who was playing some amazing tennis, but Fritz was able to win that match in five sets and secure his spot in the final.
It will be the first Grand Slam final of his career, and having it on his home court is going to be extremely important for Fritz. The way he's been playing in recent weeks makes him feel confident in his level and 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 has himself played superbly well at this year's US Open.
The Italian will be a massive favorite to win the match, but Fritz has his own ideas about that. Speaking after the match, he said that he feels he will just come out playing well and win the match. It’s a bold statement by the American, but he has beaten Sinner before and enjoys playing him.
"I’ve always enjoyed playing him. To be honest, I don’t think that I’m going to be put in a more stressful situation than I was today than playing in a final.I think today was much more stressful than me playing the final."
"I just feel good. I have a feeling I’m going to come out 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 just come out of nowhere. Fritz has never played a match against Sinner in which he didn’t at least win one set. There is clearly something that works well for him in the matchup, and being on home soil with the crowd heavily backing him will undoubtedly push him to try and do better.
Sinner has been playing like a machine, largely unchallenged by any of his opponents, but it's a final, and anything can happen in a final. Fritz just thinks that they match up nicely.
"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 got me in three at Indian Wells. I don’t know, he strikes, he hits the ball big, he’s like a very strong ball striker, but I feel like I always hit the ball really nice off of his ball."
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