James Blake has declared that Taylor Fritz can beat ‘anyone in the world’ as he laid out how the American tennis star can embrace an underdog role and pull off a shock US Open win.
The US men’s No. 1 and world No. 4 will face Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner likely looming in the next two rounds if he can continue his winning ways in New York.
But Blake still believes Fritz, now the last American man standing after Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe all bowed out, has the ability to end America’s 22-year wait for a male Grand Slam title.
‘For Taylor, he knows he’s in there. He can beat anyone in the world… probably one of the least talked about four-in-the-world players, because he seems like he just goes about his business, and he doesn’t have a huge flash,’ he told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview.
‘He doesn’t have a serve of Ben Shelton or the wheels and sort of charisma of Frances Tiafoe, but he just keeps going about his business and winning, winning all the matches he’s supposed to win.’
‘So for him, it’s just a matter of continuing to keep his head down and doing what he’s been doing.’
Taylor Fritz is hoping to shock the tennis world and capture his first Grand Slam
And James Blake believes the American can beat ‘anyone in the world’ as he gears up for a matchup against Novak Djokovic
Fritz, 27, broke through last summer when he made it to the championship match in New York, falling to Sinner in straight sets.
And former world No. 4 Blake, who reached the quarters of the US Open in 2005 and 2006, acknowledged that Fritz is facing an absolute gauntlet to lift his first Slam this year.
‘He’s just trying to get back to where he was last year into the finals, and he really does believe that he’s going to be to take that one step further,’ Blake, who is once again broadcasting the tournament for ESPN, continued.
‘I think it’s really, really difficult, though, for anyone to possibly get through both, he would have to get through, most likely, Sinner and Alcaraz. And I think that’s just so tough to do back-to-back.’
Blake, 45, certainly earned some memorable upset wins during his own career, as he took down the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
While Fritz is rarely ever an underdog at this point, as Blake pointed out, the former player recalled how facing a favorite can ‘free up’ a player – a mindset which could come in handy for the American against Djokovic. The 38-year-old Serbian is seeded lower than Fritz, but is 10-0 in head-to-head matchups and of course has a glittering resume.
‘If I can convince myself that I’m the underdog: ‘Hey, this guy’s been playing well, hey, this guy likes this surface a little better.’ Or, ‘Hey this guy just had a big win. He’s confident, I’m the underdog. I got to play well just to win this,” Blake began, speaking generally.
‘And I love that feeling, because then you’re going to play your game, you’re going to play way more aggressive. You’re gonna play to win, not playing not to lose.’
Fritz beat Tomas Machaco move into his third consecutive US Open quarterfinal
Fritz could face Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal, but first he’ll have to beat Novak Djokovic
Blake thrived in the underdog role at times; he defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2005 US Open
Fritz would certainly be an underdog against Alcaraz or Sinner, though the American has some pedigree as well after several years of consistently deep tournament runs.
‘He’s four in the world,’ Blake said. ‘And he’s been a proven four in the world, not a flash in the pan.’
The commentator was also full of praise for Taylor Townsend following her clash with Jelena Ostapenko last week.
In an explosive on-court meeting, the Latvian told Townsend that she had ‘no class and no education’ after losing to the American in the second round. Those comments kicked off accusations of racism against Ostapenko, who has denied having that intent and later claimed she meant to reference ‘tennis etiquette’, as Townsend did not apologize for a net cord.
Regardless, Townsend stood tall, referencing Ostapenko’s ‘bulls***’ and discussing how people of color are ‘expected to be silenced’ before her opponent issued her formal apology over the weekend.
‘In these type of moments, it’s important for me to speak up, not only for myself, but for my culture,’ Townsend said on Thursday.
She was defended by other Black American players like Coco Gauff, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, a reaction Blake – the third-highest ranked Black player of all-time – was hugely pleased to see.
Jelena Ostapenko (left) and Taylor Townsend clashed last week as the Latvian said Townsend had ‘no class and no education’
Blake said he ‘couldn’t be more proud’ of how Townsend handled herself in the situation
‘Taylor Townsend is someone I have tremendous respect for – [even] before this week. She wrote an unbelievable article on Players’ Tribune following her journey, doing what she’s doing as a mother, navigating the Tour as a mother. For anyone to do that is someone that’s well deserving of tons of respect.
‘But the way she handled herself in this situation, the way she’s handled herself in just about every situation she’s been in in her career – with really the utmost of class – I couldn’t be more proud of someone like that. Her as an individual, I’ve been able to do a bunch of events with her and stuff, and she’s always just as gracious as can be, just as nice as can be, and then goes and takes care of business on the court.
‘So I’m happy and proud of her. All the players standing up for her – I think that speaks a lot to who she is in the locker room, around the grounds and everything, too,’ he continued.
‘And I think you found the one person that could say something negative about her, and that’s it. And a lot of times, if the person is saying something negative, it says a little more about them than it does about the person they’re talking about. So I think for her, she couldn’t have handled it any better. I couldn’t be more proud of who she is and how she handled it.’
Townsend went out in a three-set heartbreaker to Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round, but is still alive in doubles alongside Katerina Siniakova and will face Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday.
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