In 2017, men’s tennis went through a moment it did not anticipate. As Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two of the sport’s most captivating figures, made an unlikely comeback to the sport’s summit, the powers that be had already put a transition in motion.
Desperate to retain viewership and prestige, it anointed the leading group of younger players as the ‘Next Gen’, a new vehicle for those aged under 21, hoping to make household names of the generation that will take the reins from its aging stars.
Seven years later, as unlikely as it has been for Federer, Nadal, and Novak Djokovic to maintain their grip on the sport, the serial underperformance of the original class of ‘Next Gen’ has been equally implausible.
Only one of them, Daniil Medvedev, has won a Major. He is also the only one of them that has maximised his talent enough to be ranked World No 1. Instead, there have been a series of disappointments — three of them have lost a Grand Slam final from a two-sets lead — to the degree that the generation that has come after them is already more successful.
The most unheralded of that original class had been the unassuming American Taylor Fritz. The big-serving flat-hitter from Southern California had shown signs of promise, but didn’t have the natural talent or the personal charisma to get the concerted marketing push that some of his peers, in both his home country and internationally, got. On Sunday, he will have the opportunity put those assertions to rest.
In a raucous New York night session on Saturday, Fritz came out on top in an all-American battle against Frances Tiafoe, a childhood friend and fellow ‘Next Gen’ hype man, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his first Major final. He becomes the first American since 2009 to reach a Grand Slam men’s singles final, and the first since 2006 to do it on home soil at the US Open.
Bullet server
Fritz is an archetype of modern-day tennis players. Far from an old-school technician, the 26-year-old bases his game around a massive serve, and the plus one combination with his flat forehand.
Sep 6, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; Taylor Fritz (USA) serves against Frances Tiafoe (USA)(not pictured) in a men’s singles semifinal of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
According to stats collected by the ATP, Fritz is fourth on the 52-week leaderboard for overall quality. More crucially though, in the past year, nobody has won more points behind their first serve than Fritz (78.8%). This shows the quality of his serve plus one play — how he can serve down bullets and, if returned, supplement them with a big forehand.
From the baseline, Fritz does not overwhelm players with power but instead finds angles and depth, extending rallies until he can find the right winner shot. His is a playing style that is not flashy but frustratingly effective, especially on hard courts. But it is also the least forgiving in the face of mental lapses.
That has been his biggest perceived limitation — the manner in which his level falls in the face of adversity. Fritz had always been a promising talent but struggled for years to get past the quarterfinal stage, despite reaching it four times. Meanwhile, his compatriots built a bigger body of work. Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and (much younger) Ben Shelton all reached the Major semifinals. Tiafoe and Shelton, who played out a five-set battle in the third round last week, have warmed themselves to the New York night crowds by having their breakthroughs there while Fritz has often been on the sidelines.
This year, he broke his duck. After beating both Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev, multiple Grand Slam finalists who have played the US Open summit clash before him, he did not let the momentum waver against Tiafoe.
Saturday’s semifinal was one of twists and turns. Fritz took an early lead but lost focus and the first set, before finding serving rhythm and being ruthless enough to take his opportunity in the second. Once Tiafoe had edged the third, familiar feelings that have caused collapses would have creeped in for Fritz but he held his nerve and relied on the patterns of play that work for him best: staying strong behind his serve and using angles on his forehand to get Tiafoe outside his comfort zone. It may have made the match a grind, but it worked like a treat.
“It’s a dream come true, I’m in the final so I’m going to come out and give everything I possibly have and I know that for a fact,” Fritz said after the match, per Reuters .
On Sunday, Fritz takes on a challenge he has not yet faced, tasked to play a Major final against the best player in the world.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner came through in three testing sets against Britain’s Jack Draper on a humid afternoon in which the Italian faced a minor wrist injury and his challenger vomited on court twice. Despite the psychodrama, Sinner was unmoved, cruising into his second Major final after winning the Australian Open earlier this year. He has won 34 of 36 matches he has played on a hard court in 2024. He is the overwhelming favourite in what is, on paper, the most one-sided Grand Slam final matchup in years.
But Fritz has faced doubters his whole career. Much like compatriot Jessica Pegula, who plays the US Open final late on Saturday, he comes from unquestionable privilege — his mother, Mary, is a former tennis player and heiress to a retail empire in the US. A good life was on the cards without the relentless grind of professional tennis, but it’s a life he has chosen, and found the resilience and motivation to keep going even as several hiccups have come his way.
On Sunday, he has the most high-profile chance to prove them wrong again.
