2023 US Open: Novak Djokovic vs. Taylor Fritz pick, prediction
Taylor Fritz has certainly overcome some of his demons at the 2023 US Open, but the jury is still out on whether he’s answered any of the hard questions during his run to the quarterfinals.
Sure, it’s impressive that Fritz has made it to the quarters for the first time at the US Open and the second time at any grand slam, but it’s also fair to remain skeptical of the American’s ability to go any deeper than this since he’s faced one of the softest paths imaginable to this point.
Fritz hasn’t dropped a set in Flushing, but then again, he’s played World No. 205 Steve Johnson, clay-court specialist Juan Pablo Varillas, 17-year-old Jakub Mensik and qualifier Dominic Stricker to get to this point.
It’s obvious to point out, but I’ll do it anyway: Novak Djokovic is a massive step up in competition for Fritz in this tournament.
Novak Djokovic vs. Taylor Fritz pick
Djokovic has also caught a massive break with his path to the quarterfinals.
Djokovic has played one seeded player to this point: Laslo Djere, the lowest seed in the entire field at The Open, and he needed five sets to survive his fellow Serb.
Additionally, Djokovic just beat World No. 105 Borna Gojo in the Round of 16.
It’s hard to cook up an easier route to the business end of a grand slam than the ones that Fritz and Djokovic have had to overcome so far.
Djokovic was able to bounce back after losing the first two sets to Djere in the Round of 32.
Not only did Djokovic storm his fellow Serb in the remaining three sets, but he carried that momentum into a drubbing of Gojo in the Round of 16.
In fact, you could argue that it’s a good thing at this point that Djokovic has faced some pressure points in this tournament.
Fritz, on the other hand, has dealt with very little adversity to get to this point, and you have to wonder how he’ll handle things when they begin to go pear-shaped against Djokovic.
The American has proven in the past that he can struggle to find his way back into contests when things go south, and they’re likely to go that way at some point against Djokovic, who is 7-0 against Fritz all-time and is coming off a dominant 6-0, 6-4 victory in Cincinnati last month. Furthermore, six of Djokovic’s seven wins were in straight sets.
Fritz has some elite offensive weapons — including a monster serve — but Djokovic is the best defender the sport has ever seen and will force the American into longer rallies than he’s comfortable with, especially in this matchup.
Djokovic is 42-5 in 2023 and is an other-worldly 43-3 on hard courts over the last calendar year, and I like his chances to continue his dominance over Fritz on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bet: Novak Djokovic -2.5 sets (-105, FanDuel)
