World No. 4 Taylor Fritz is knocking on the door of something big this year.
In each of the past three seasons, Fritz has finished inside the top 10. Now, heading into his Round of 16 match with Terence Atmane at the Cincinnati Open today, Fritz is within striking distance of world No. 3, Alexander Zverev, a player he’s gone undefeated against across their five most recent meetings.
During an interview with Heavy facilitated by Maestro Dobel Tequila, the Official Tequila of the US Open, Fritz spoke about how the 2021 season served as a turning point for his career.
Following a second-round exit at Roland Garros, where he tore his meniscus on match point against Dominik Koepfer, Fritz underwent surgery on his knee before returning to action at Wimbledon less than one month later.
After picking up wins over fellow Americans Brandon Nakashima and Steve Johnson, Fritz then collided with Zverev in the third round, losing in four sets. Despite the fact that he was fresh off knee surgery, Fritz wasn’t happy with his level of play, and challenged himself to, quote, “get your f****** s*** together.”
“It was really the first time in my career that I felt like I was moving backwards. Almost like my ranking was actually dropping. Prior to that, I’d always kind of been moving in the right direction. I never was too, I guess, negative. There’s always something to be positive about. But I’d say that was the first time I kind of felt like I was, yeah, not playing well, and also the ranking going in the opposite direction. I just had a knee surgery and came back and had a very close match with Zverev at the time. So I just felt like I could play matches like that straight off of a surgery, I really should be having a lot more success.”
Although Fritz suffered early exits in Toronto and Cincinnati in the month that followed, things changed late in the season as he closed out the year with a semifinal appearance at Indian Wells, a final in St. Petersburg, and a quarterfinal run at the Paris Masters 1000.
When the final 2021 ATP rankings were released, Fritz had battled his way up to No. 23, giving himself a launching point for the 2022 season, where he won his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and cracked the top 10 for the first time.
Taylor Fritz Prepares for Another Deep Run at US Open
Although Taylor Fritz’s immediate focus is on a deep run in Cincinnati, we’re now less than two weeks away from the start of the US Open.
Last year, Fritz went on an impressive run that saw him go three rounds without dropping a set. Then, following a convincing Round of 16 win over Casper Ruud, Fritz picked up his second win in a row against Zverev to advance to the semifinals, where he defeated fellow American Frances Tiafoe.
In the final against Jannik Sinner, however, Fritz, in his own words, didn’t show up.
Heading into the 2025 US Open, Taylor Fritz is in the midst of an impressive stretch that most recently saw him make a deep run in Toronto before losing to eventual-champion Ben Shelton in the semifinals.
As he prepares for what American fans hope will be another deep run at the US Open, the world No. 4 reflected on last year’s final, saying:
“I don’t think there’s anything that I’ve necessarily added that I couldn’t do then. At the end of the day, I didn’t show up and play as well as I think I can play in the finals against an opponent who I’m gonna need to play my best against to beat.”
As he went on to explain, oftentimes, coming up big is a matter of locking in:
“I’d say it all kind of comes down to like showing up and locking in. I think anytime you get late to a tournament the person you’re playing is going to be playing well. They’ve played a lot of matches, you both play a lot of matches and have a lot of confidence so it’s just kind of who plays better, competes harder.
“For me those are my favorite moments on the court and what I enjoy the most.”
Fritz Talks About Serving Up His Signature Spicy Margarita at US Open
Despite the fact that Taylor Fritz will be playing both mixed doubles and singles at the US Open, much like in years past the fan-favorite will be popping into the Dobel Tequila Club throughout the tournament, where fans can enjoy Dobel’s signature Ace Paloma cocktail, or Taylor’s signature Fritzy Spicy Margarita.
“My obvious personal recommendation would be the Fritzy Spicy Margarita. That’s ohviously my drink, [but] both are incredible. Anytime I go out to the tents or the Dobel Tequila Club to do things with the fans I feel like I’m making drinks, giving them drinks, but i feel like, even though it’s in the middle of the tournament, I always want to start drinking my drink.”
While Taylor Fritz will be making drinks for lucky fans in New York, those watching at home can make their own Fritzy Spicy Margarita with Dobel’s signature recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 oz Dobel Diamante Cristalino Reposado
- 1 oz Lime Juice
- .75 Agave Nectar
- 1 or 2 jalapeños
- Garnish: Jalañeno Slice and Black Lava Salt
- Served on the Rocks
- Rocks Glass
Procedure:
- Rim glass with salt.
- Shake all ingredients well.
- Pour over ice and garnish with a jalapeño.
Fritz will play mixed doubles starting on Aug. 19, with the first round of US Open action then scheduled to begin on Aug. 24.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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