Taylor Fritz says what he hopes the US Open crowd will now do after so many American players have been knocked out

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Taylor Fritz is the last American male left in the US Open draw.

It has been a really tough tournament for the hometown heroes, with Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe all having been knocked out in the past few days.

And whilst some were well beaten, others were forced out through no fault of their own, marking a sad end to a promising tournament.

Fortunately, at least one remains, and it just so happens to be last year’s finalist, who is keen to go one step further this year and win the whole thing.

Ahead of his quarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz has now given his thoughts on this American mass exodus in the men’s draw. 

Taylor Fritz reacts to so many American players losing at the US Open

Speaking at his press conference after earning a comprehensive win over Tomáš Macháč, he admitted, about the flurry of American defeats: “I guess it can be a good thing for me.”

The 27-year-old then explained why: “Hopefully all the crowd’s really going to get behind me now because I’m the last guy. But yeah, it is surprising. It’s just been a rough week for the guys.

“I mean, it’s tough. Ben with the injury, then I think Foe and Tommy just ran into some guys that were dangerous players, playing really, really good tennis. It happens. But I’m happy to be here and hopefully the crowd can get behind me and we can do this.”

Ben Shelton was forced to retire mid-match despite being on track to beat Adrian Mannarino, whilst Frances Tiafoe was well beaten by Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets.

Alexander Bublik sent a message of support to Shelton and Tommy Paul after his recent win too, with even those not from America being understandably sympathetic.

Taylor Fritz’s head-to-head record vs Novak Djokovic

If Fritz is to make it back to the final, repeating his magical feat from 2024, he will have to do it in the hardest possible way.

After all, next up for him is Djokovic, with Carlos Alcaraz expected to be waiting for him in the semi-finals should he get past the Serbian.

Ironically, Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to also return to the US Open final as well, having beaten Fritz in three simple sets this time last year.

The task of toppling the top-two-ranked players in the world is a daunting one, but first, he will have to claim the first win of his career against Djokovic, having failed to beat him in any of their ten meetings.