NEW YORK — In the build-up to Wimbledon, Taylor Fritz said that men’s tennis feels more open now, compared with the Big Three era.
“It took just one of them to be playing incredibly well,” he said of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“We were younger and not as good as we are now. You were hoping that they’d have an off day, and you’d have an on day,” Fritz said, adding: “Nowadays, anyone in the top 15, it’s kind of whoever plays better.
“It’s exciting for all of us because we know that all it takes is two weeks or 10 days of playing really high-level tennis, and taking the opportunity as best as possible,” he said.
This U.S. Open has proved Fritz both right and wrong. Early exits for Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz offered hope to the chasing pack, but the tournament ended upholding the status quo, as world No. 1 Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam of the year by beating Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
With the other two majors of 2024 going to Alcaraz, he and Sinner have won five of the last six Slams. They are delivering at the sharp end of majors with Big Three-like efficiency, and neither one of them is even 23.
Their domination feels different to the rest of the locker room, though. After Frances Tiafoe was defeated by Fritz in Friday’s semifinal he said that this tournament had been “big” in showing the best of the rest that a Grand slam win is within reach. “It shows that it’s definitely possible,” he said. “The game’s open. Even with Alcaraz and Sinner and these other guys, it’s not what it used to be.”
Alexander Zverev, now ranked just ahead of Alcaraz at No. 2 but without the same major success, expressed similar sentiments ahead of Wimbledon.
Part of the sentiment comes from the fact that even if they’re winning the bulk of the slams, Sinner and Alcaraz are not yet at the point of being pretty much a shoo-in for the semis or finals of every big tournament. Alcaraz showed that with his second-round exit here. Djokovic is still wildly talented but has been more uneven, offering the field a glimmer of hope after his worst Grand Slam year since 2017 (and second worst since 2009).
Fritz said Sunday that what gives him encouragement is that he reached the final without feeling he was playing that well.
“I think it’s really positive for me, because I don’t feel like at any specific point in these two weeks, I don’t feel like I was playing, like, amazing tennis,” he said. “Maybe it is a bit more open. I don’t think you have to, I don’t know, play unbelievable to go deep in tournaments and contend.”
(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Players like Fritz also haven’t built up the kind of scar tissue with Alcaraz and Sinner that they had with the Big Three, and even if they do find themselves losing to them, it’s significant that they at least feel like they have a chance of winning.
With the Big Three, players like Fritz largely went in with hope rather than any expectation. By contrast, ahead of facing Sinner, Fritz said: “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.”
In the end, Sinner proved to be too strong and Fritz acknowledged afterwards that: “I think that (now) you can find yourself a little deeper in the draws — quarterfinals and stuff if you just play solid tennis. I still think to beat the top guys you need to bring your best game.”
And that is the rub of it. For a man like Fritz to make the breakthrough and win a slam he is still more than likely going to have to face one of Sinner, Alcaraz or Djokovic. And as much as this tournament showed that there may be more chances for players outside the elite to reach quarters, semis and finals, none of those players recorded a landmark win against one of the top three at this tournament.
Djokovic’s conqueror, Alexei Popyrin, is a rung or two below the group of main challengers, while Botic van de Zandschulp, who defeated Alcaraz, is realistically not going to be at the sharp end of slams anytime soon.
Fritz, though, will come out of this tournament with his standing in the game slightly altered. He spoke after losing to Sinner about how you can only beat what’s in front of you, and he has clearly taken a lot of confidence from the way he navigated the highly stressful and slightly strange semifinal against his good friend and compatriot Tiafoe on Friday.
There had always been a competition between those two and the rest of the close group of American players about who would get to a Grand Slam final first. Fritz has done it, and in his mind while not playing his best. That bodes well for him heading into the Australian Open in January.
But on Sunday Fritz was reminded that he’s still a way off taking that final step. He spoke about how his Plan B of grinding it out works against most players, but not those at the very top. He knows he’ll need to add more to his game to take that next step.
Because while the paths to semis and finals may be getting easier, as long as Alcaraz and Sinner are collectively delivering, the chasing pack still has a way to go.
(Top photo: Kena Betancur / AFP)
