NEW YORK – In the run-up to Wimbledon, Taylor Fritz said that men's tennis feels more open today in comparison with the era of the “Big Three.”
“It only took one of them to play incredibly well,” he said of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“We were younger and not as good as we are today. You hoped that they would have a bad day and you would have a good day,” said Fritz. “Nowadays, for everyone in the top 15, it's all about who plays better.”
“It's exciting for all of us because we know we only have two weeks or ten days of really high-level tennis to play and we have to make the most of the opportunity.”
This US Open proved Fritz right and unsuitable. Early exits of Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz gave hope to the chasing pack, however the tournament ended with the established order maintained as world primary Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam of the 12 months, beating Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
The other two majors of 2024 will go to 21-year-old Alcaraz, who has won five of the last six Grand Slam tournaments together with 23-year-old Sinner. They deliver at the highest of the majors with the efficiency of the Big Three, they usually are still quite young.
But her dominance feels different from the remainder within the locker room. After being defeated by Fritz within the semifinals on Friday, Frances Tiafoe said this tournament has been “great” to indicate the very best of the remainder that a Grand Slam win is nearby. “It shows it's definitely possible,” he said. “The game is open. Even with Alcaraz and Sinner and those other guys, it's not what it used to be.”
Alexander Zverev, who’s ranked second just ahead of Alcaraz but has not had the identical great success, expressed similar sentiments before Wimbledon.
Part of that sentiment stems from the indisputable fact that Sinner and Alcaraz, while winning the vast majority of Grand Slam tournaments, should not yet at the purpose where they will enter the semifinals or finals of each major tournament as surefire winners. Alcaraz showed that here together with his second-round exit. Djokovic continues to be incredibly talented but more inconsistent in his performance, offering a glimmer of hope to the sector after his worst Grand Slam 12 months since 2017 (and second-worst since 2009).
Fritz said on Sunday that he was encouraged that he had reached the ultimate without playing well.
“I think it's really positive for me because at no point in these two weeks have I felt like… I've just played fantastic tennis,” he said. “Maybe it's a little bit more open. I don't think you have to play, I don't know, unbelievably to go far in tournaments and be able to compete.”
“If I play good tennis,” Taylor Fritz said, “I think this level is good enough to win.” (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Players like Fritz also didn't get as many scars from Alcaraz and Sinner as they did from the Big Three. Even in the event that they lose to them, they no less than feel like they’ve a probability to win.
In the Big Three, players like Fritz went into the tournament with hopes quite than expectations. In contrast, Fritz said before the match against Sinner: “I have the feeling that I will play really well and win. If I play good tennis, I think this level is good enough to win.”
In the top, Sinner proved to be too strong. Fritz admitted afterwards: “I think that (now) you can finish a little higher – in the quarterfinals and so on – if you just play solid tennis. I still think that you have to bring your best game to beat the top players.”
And that's where the issue lies. For a player like Fritz to interrupt through and win a Grand Slam tournament, he'll most definitely need to face Sinner, Alcaraz or Djokovic. And while this tournament showed that there are more opportunities for players outside the elite to succeed in the quarters, semis and finals, none of those players have had a breakthrough win against one in all the highest three.
Djokovic's conqueror Alexei Popyrin is one or two steps below the essential challengers, and Botic van de Zandschulp, who beat Alcaraz, is unlikely to be at the highest of the Grand Slam tournaments any time soon.
Fritz will come out of this tournament with a rather different position in the sport, nevertheless. After his loss to Sinner he spoke about how you may only beat what’s in front of you, and the best way he handled Friday's extremely stressful and somewhat strange semi-final against his good friend and fellow countryman Tiafoe seems to have boosted his confidence.
There was at all times a contest between those two and the remainder of the tight group of American players to be the primary to succeed in a Grand Slam final. Fritz did it, despite not playing his best game in his opinion, and that bodes well for him on the Australian Open in January.
But on Sunday, Fritz was reminded that he continues to be a good distance from taking that final step. He talked about how his Plan B of grinding through works against most players, but not against those at the highest. He knows he has to enhance his game to take that next step.
Because even when the trail to the semi-finals and finals may change into easier, the pursuers still have a protracted option to go so long as Alcaraz and Sinner perform to their full potential.
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