"I think the mental coping that I was doing for it was, Well, every time I was in the quarters, I played [Novak] Djokovic," Fritz said, laughing after finally accomplishing the feat Tuesday with a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Alexander Zverev. "I think that was my way to just protect my ego." After two losses to Djokovic and one to Rafael Nadal, Fritz was outplayed in his Wimbledon quarterfinal this past July by a mortal Lorenzo Musetti in five sets.
"The focused and big-serving Fritz has cruised through this year's U.S. Open draw, facing little resistance until yesterday. For the second major in a row, he dispatched Zverev, a higher-ranked and broadly higher-achieving player. At the Open, Fritz is the No. 12 seed to Zverev's No. 4."
"Neither player had much success attacking from the baseline, as Fritz explained in the post-match press. He managed to stay slightly more assertive despite the circumstances. Zverev's serve faded after a high-level first set, and he was let down by his two-handed backhand, which he often duffed into the net and missed long by six feet."
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