This story was originally published by Dead Spin
No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz delivered 24 aces and punched his ticket into the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the second straight year by notching a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 8 Casper Ruud on Sunday afternoon in New York.
Fritz had a 56-32 edge in winners while outplaying the Norwegian. He finished the victory in two hours, 44 minutes.
“I just had to stay in it because I felt like he outplayed me in the first set,” Fritz said. “I had some chances, he had some chances and he took them.
“He was playing well and I did a really good job to fight at the start of the second to get through some tight service games and apply some scoreboard pressure. I feel his level then maybe dropped a little bit. I was getting more looks on second serves and I could just get through it from there.”
Fritz saved 5 of 6 break points while reaching a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the third time this year. He has never reached the semifinals of a major.
“I am taking it one match at a time to be honest. I think that can add more pressure,” Fritz said. “I came in 2022 saying I could win it and I lost first round. I think it is good to take it one match at a time.”
Fritz will face either fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany or fellow American Brandon Nakashima in the quarters. Zverev and Nakashima were also playing Sunday.
No. 9 seed Grigor Dimitrov also scored a quarterfinal berth by recording a 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 victory over No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia.
The Bulgarian started fast before Rublev rebounded to knot the match before finishing strong to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the eighth time in his career. It is his second time at the U.S. Open. He lost in the semifinals in 2019 against Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
Dimitrov saved 13 of 18 break points and had 17 aces, four below Rublev’s total in the 3-hour, 40-minute marathon. Rublev had a 47-41 advantage in winners.
Dimitrov will meet either No. 20 Frances Tiafoe or No. 28 seed Alexei Popyrin of Australia in the quarterfinals. Those two meet Sunday night.
“I’m trying to enjoy every single moment and I’m celebrating every day that I get to be out here,” Dimitrov said. “I’m just focusing on myself. I’ve had very tough weeks, with my body and everything. So I just want to focus on my rehab and the good things that I did today, things that I can improve, just keep it as basic as possible, and I’m thrilled to be through to the second week.”
–Field Level Media
