At times it almost must seem like the weight of the tennis world is resting on the shoulders of the highest-ranked American men’s tennis player left at the U.S. Open.
Taylor Fritz, along with fellow countrymen Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton, have gotten used to the question that has hung over American tennis for the past 20 years — since Andy Roddick captured this grand slam.
Will this be the year an American man finally wins the U.S. Open?
The 25-year-old seemed ready for it when it was posed by The Post during a one-on-one sitdown with the American ahead of his third-round match with Jakub Menšík on Friday night.
“It’s a question that we’ve been bothered with for our whole careers,” Fritz said. “It’s just a matter of if, when, who is going to do it. I mean, I’m motivated by it because I want to win. I want to be the one to do it.”
That starts with getting out of the third round at Flushing Meadows, which Fritz has yet to accomplish that in his young career.
He was knocked out in the first round of last year’s U.S. Open by fellow American Brandon Holt.
However, Fritz has found a rhythm in this year’s tournament after he flew by his first two opponents – losing 10 total games to Steve Johnson and Juan Pablo Varillas.
Fritz told the Post that he hadn’t made any tweaks to his game, beyond changing his mental approach.
That, he said, has seemed to have made a world of difference.
The American tennis star is worrying less about how awful it would feel to lose and has limited his commitments off the court.
Readjusting the mental aspect of his game has come down to a simple fix of just getting the proper amount of rest.
“Just being super well rested and I think my mind just handles things better,” Fritz said. “I feel a lot less anxious, nervous, whatever and you know at the end of the day like it is tough. You have to care, but also it’s like you have to care and not care at the same time in order to really be free and play your best on the court.”
The California native also said that he tried to limit his off-the-court commitments during the U.S. Open, however, he still makes time for some.
On Thursday, Fritz went through his normal routine and practiced on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but he still made time for a promotional commitment for Maestro Dobel Tequila, which is the first Official Tequila of the U.S. Open.
The brand is one that Fritz had partnered with before and he joked that through his time working with them he’s gotten skilled at making a paloma.
“I think my favorite thing is going to the bars and making drinks for the tennis fans, I think that’s pretty fun,” he said.
While Fritz is garnering plenty of attention in New York, he’s also been sharing the spotlight with his girlfriend Morgan Riddle.
The 26-year-old has drawn quite the audience since becoming a full-time social media influencer and has been chronicling Fritz’s run at the U.S. Open.
“She’s been almost as busy as me this week and it’s been really great to see her be able to do so well,” said Fritz, who told The Post with a smile that he still gets recognized a little bit more than her.
Back on the court, with his third-round match approaching, Fritz was posed with the question of whether he allows himself to envision winning the U.S. Open and snapping the 20-year drought.
“Maybe a little bit,” he admitted.
“But I don’t give it I guess too much thought, like I’m trying to take it just one match at a time and that’s the best way to do it. When I won my biggest title, Indian walls, I literally didn’t think about the fact that I was going to win Indian Wells until it was like match point. Serving for the finals.”
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