Taylor Fritz doubled down on self-criticism after his straight-set defeat to Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2024 US Open. The home favorite had a shot at becoming America’s first US Open champion since Andy Roddick in 2003 but lost to the Italian 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 16 minutes.

Fritz had a phenomenal campaign at Flushing Meadows, ousting Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the opening round and following it up with wins over Matteo Berrettini and Francisco Comesana in the subsequent rounds.

He knocked out eighth seed Casper Ruud and fourth seed Alexander Zverev to reach his maiden Major semifinals, where he defeated his compatriot Frances Tiafoe in five sets.

He faced Jannik Sinner in the final; however, the World No. 1 proved to be too much for the American. During the presentation ceremony, Taylor Fritz apologized to the fans for failing to get the job done and said that he would keep working hard to have another go at it.

He was asked during the press conference if he was able to appreciate his successful campaign at Flushing Meadows, to which the American responded with a strong no. He said that it would take him some time to embrace the success of his run; however, he was thinking that he should’ve played better in order to give himself a better chance and stated:

“Not yet. There are a lot of positive things to take away and when I take some time off, I’ll be happy to have made it to the final. Right now I’m quite disappointed with how things went on the court, the way I played, how I hit certain balls. I’m not saying that would have made a difference. I would have liked to play better, give myself a better chance. “

The 26-year-old expressed how his defeat might have crushed the hope of many American tennis lovers who were going for his victory and iterated:

“I feel like the Americans have wanted a men’s champion for a long time, I’m very sad with the way I played. It’s like I let people down.”

Fritz was the first American man to reach the final of a Major since Andy Roddick at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.

“If I do it once, I can do it again” – a confident Taylor Fritz looks to give himself another shot at a Grand Slam

Taylor Fritz was happy with the way he played throughout the campaign but knew there was room for improvement. He said that his confidence increased after realizing that he was capable of achieving feats and cited a few examples.

He admitted that, at times, he had taken time to achieve things, but always felt that if he had achieved something once, he could always repeat the feat.

“The biggest thing is that I’ve played solid. That’s extremely rewarding, to have gotten to this point playing solid. I know there’s a lot of room for improvement. I’ve always said that I feel more confident seeing that I’m capable of doing it again, whether it was my first ATP point, my first Challenger or whatever. Sometimes it’s taken me a while to achieve something, but I’ve always felt that if I do it once, I can do it again.”

Taylor Fritz will reenter the Top 10 of the ATP rankings as the new World No. 7 jumping five places.