Fritz, tired of always dying on the shore: "I don't need to play much better to make it happen"

It must be a very difficult night for Taylor Fritz. Facing Novak Djokovic eleven times, at different stages of his career, different stages of your career, even playing with the crowd on your side... to always end in the same way. Frustrating for the American who, despite playing at a very decent level tonight at the US Open 2025, luck was not on his side either. Last year's runner-up packed his bags against the Serbian and confirmed that he is still not ready for such a challenge. We don't know if he will be someday, but what is clear is that this rivalry is preventing the Californian from moving forward in his career in recent seasons. These were his statements after his match in the quarterfinals.

Match assessment

"In the third set, I served much better than in the first and second. From the baseline, I don't think I played much better than in the first and second. Honestly, the first three sets weren't great; I think the level in the fourth was the best I played, but he also played much better in that fourth set. The only difference in the third set was that I was able to serve better and converted a break point, that was the biggest difference. Generally, that's all I need to do to win a set, convert a break point and serve well. In the first two sets, things just didn't go my way."

Missed break points

"I think the statistic was like 0-10 or something, although it sounds better for me than it really was because we didn't count the number of times I was at 15-30 or 30-30, so the fact that I was 0-10 in that statistic says a lot. I had many opportunities, but the problem was that I always played those points very poorly, hence the statistic. When it comes to break points, it's like that, although out of those 10, I think he really played about five or six very well. It's hard for me to take advantage of all those opportunities, I guess I played many of them poorly or was too conservative, or pulled the trigger at the wrong time. They're bad decisions because I wasn't playing as well as I would have liked, which then makes everything more complicated in pressure situations."

Intermittent level

"The thing is, his level was much higher in the fourth set, although mine too. The fourth was the only set where I showed a fairly high level from the baseline, we were both very consistent, waiting for each other's error. He made many more errors than he normally does, and as for me, I had all those break opportunities compared to the first sets. In the end, the issue is that I don't need to play much better for it to happen, that's what's frustrating because I had all those chances playing like that. I need to serve a bit better, not as poorly as in the first two sets. This is one of the things that great players do at the end of the day, which makes them great: they win the important points. I knew I would have to take those points away from him because he wasn't going to give them to me. That's exactly what happened; many of my weapons weren't there at those moments, it was disappointing."

Djokovic's serve, key again

"He always serves well, especially with the first one. He hits his strengths well, gets a great number of free points and aces, although I think I did a decent job on returns. What has cost me a lot in the past is his variation with the second serve, I would love to attack it much more, but it's difficult. Sometimes he throws a softer serve in the middle of the court, or maybe he spins it, but it's hard to attack it when I'm waiting for that opportunity that allows me to come in with my forehand. On the ad side, it becomes very complicated, he loves to throw that three-quarter serve, he does it every time we play. It's embarrassing how many times I was waiting for that shot and still couldn't return it; I can't let this happen. Sometimes it's hard to attack the easiest thing because right there I'm waiting for him to do the biggest move."

Novak and the challenge of defeating the new Big2

"It's difficult to predict; as I said, I think his level increased a lot in the fourth set, he served better, made fewer errors, played better. In the previous sets, I don't think either of us played our best tennis, so I can't speak for him, I'm not sure. What I can assure you is that during the draw, I was excited to have the opportunity to play again against Novak and, who knows, then against Carlos or Sinner, the feeling was great, I love challenges. Knowing Novak, being the competitor he is, I'm sure he will be excited to face a challenge of this caliber again."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Fritz, harto de morir siempre en la orilla: “No necesito jugar mucho mejor para hacer que suceda”