Just two weeks after Wimbledon, the Canadian Open was already limping, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic all pulling out before the first serve. But one heavyweight stood tall, Taylor Fritz, who, despite a straight-sets loss in the Wimbledon semifinals, came charging into Montreal. Now a semifinalist at the Canadian Open, Fritz’s run wasn’t a walk in the park. And while the result speaks volumes, Taylor Fritz makes an honest admission about his game despite securing a semi-final spot at the Canadian Open; his own performance left him unsatisfied. The fight was real, but the fire inside wants more.
Taylor Fritz was inches away from another serving shutout under the Toronto lights Tuesday night, but in the end, he got what truly mattered, a gritty win over 2024 finalist Andrey Rublev to punch his ticket to the National Bank Open semi-finals. Holding match point at 5-4 in the second after a serving clinic, Fritz looked poised for his 42nd straight hold. But Rublev, clawing through chaos, broke through on his fourth opportunity and dragged the battle into a tie-break.
Still, Fritz didn’t flinch. Riding the momentum of 18 wins in his last 21 matches, the American locked in and sealed a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory, his 20th hard-court triumph of the year. Yet, even with the win, he sees himself as aces at his own game, particularly that shaky second set, knowing there’s still sharpening to be done.
Speaking after the match, Taylor Fritz pulled no punches in assessing the wild shift in momentum late in the second set. Reflecting on that pivotal stretch, “That whole game was so shaky for me,” Fritz admitted. “It’s weird because he was holding easy, I was holding easy. It felt so like calm and chill and all of a sudden I’m serving to be in the semis, the pressure of the game came out of nowhere.”
Tennis – Wimbledon Championship 2025 – Day 12 LONDON, ENGLAND – Friday, July 11, 2025: Taylor Fritz USA during the Gentlemen s Singles Semi-Final on Day Twelve of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Photo by Kirsten Holst/Propaganda LONDON All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club GREATER LONDON ENGLAND PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xKirstenxHolstx 2025-07-11-011-Wimbledon_2025_Day_12
There was no sugarcoating the truth. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it, it was a tight game. My brain kind of turned off,” Fritz said with striking honesty. “The only thing you can do is come back and win the set. I would be a lot more upset about what happened in the game if I lose the match. Winning makes it feel not as bad.” It was a rare moment of vulnerability from a player often defined by calm under fire, but one that also showcased his growing mental steel.
And mentally strong he was. After fending off all 10 break points in previous rounds against Gabriel Diallo and Jiri Lehecka, Fritz continued to light up the stats sheet with a blazing service performance, hammering 9 aces in a 31-minute first set and finishing with 20 total, tying his personal best for a three-set match.
He landed 79 percent of his first serves and 64 percent of second serves, showcasing his command in a match that was short on fireworks but long on discipline. Rublev, for his part, was no slouch, holding strong except for a lapse in the second game and a crack in his final service game.
With the win, Fritz joins elite company as only the third man this season to notch 20 hard-court wins. His next battle will be against either countryman Ben Shelton or Washington champion Alex de Minaur in the semis.
As the Canadian Open surges on, the American train keeps rolling. But up ahead looms Cincinnati, where the draw tightens, the heat rises, and chaos could reign supreme. For Taylor Fritz, the road gets steeper, but the stakes have never been higher.
Taylor Fritz draws tough Cincinnati path with threats
Rolling in as the fourth seed at Cincinnati, Fritz finds himself staring at what seems like a golden path, at least until the semifinals. With a first-round bye, he opens against either Borna Coric or the gritty Aussie, Christopher O’Connell. But any illusion of ease quickly fades. The next round might pit him against Lorenzo Sonego or Zizou Bergs, both known for turning matches into nerve-wracking, grindhouse slugfests.
If he survives the early storm, things only get fiercer. Flavio Cobolli could be lying in wait, or the unorthodox Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who drags rivals into deep waters with his relentless pace and court IQ. No matter who shows up, it’s a battle of mental armor.
Then comes the quarterfinal crucible. Taylor might face last year’s finalist, Francis Tiafoe, someone he knows all too well from their US Open semi-final clash that still echoes. But Holger Rune might be the one staring across the net, volatile, fearless, and always bringing thunder.
Should Fritz fight his way through, the semifinals won’t offer relief. Last year’s winner and world top seed Jannik Sinner might be waiting, or it could be another Italian artist, Lorenzo Musetti. And if Fritz reaches the final frontier, the showdown could be seismic, against either Alexander Zverev or second seed Carlos Alcaraz, against whom Taylor already faced a heavy loss at the Wimbledon semi-final this year in straight sets.
With a Canadian Open semi now locked in and Cincinnati promising chaos, the question is simple: can Fritz carry the weight and lead the American charge into the US Open spotlight?
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