Taylor Fritz breaks new ground as American revival continues
Taylor Fritz is set to become the highest-ranked American man on the ATP Tour since 2011 when he rises to seventh in the world next week.
Having enjoyed a first round bye in Dallas, Fritz downed compatriot Jack Sock to reach the last eight at the ATP 250 event.
The result is enough to guarantee a new career-high for Fritz and underline the resurgence of American men’s tennis.
For Fritz this isn’t a time to rest on his laurels as he seeks to improve and be the best player he can be rather than simply the best American on tour.
“I just need to keep working on the things I need to work on to get better, that got me to this point,” he said in his on-court interview after his victory over Sock. “I always expect a lot of myself and put a lot of pressure on myself, but I just need to keep working and keep improving, and hopefully the results will come.”
Fritz did not face a break point in the match but there was little to choose between the big-servers.
“I thought I played pretty well,” said Fritz, who didn’t face a break point the entire match. “He served well, and when I got chances on his serve, he played them really well. I protected my serve well.”
Fritz cannot catch world No 6 Rafael Nadal this week but he will have a chance to gain ground in the coming weeks ahead of the defence of his Indian Wells title.
It might be in the second half of the Sunshine double that Fritz will be targeting a marked improvement.
Fritz has never moved beyond the last 16 at the Miami Open while his 2022 Indian Wells title remains the only big championship won by the American.
As American No 1 he has a bevy of talented players hot on his heels and hoping to be the first American to break through into the game’s most elite strata since Andy Roddick.
There is fierce competition from the likes of Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul from his own generation while promising youngsters Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton are among those trying to steal their thunder.
Fritz can’t move higher than world No 7 this week but he can improve his lead over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Holger Rune who closely follow him the the current rankings.
He will face another compatriot in the last eight in Dallas with a match against Marcus Giron lying in wait for Fritz.
