US Open 2023, quarterfinals, Tuesday, 05.09.2023
For the first time since 2005, three US Americans will be in the final eight at this year’s US Open. One of the three pros would love to win the title at Flushing Meadows in front of the home fans.
After all, there hasn’t been a Grand Slam winner from the USA since Andre Agassi’s success at the Australian Open in 2003 and Andy Roddick’s victory at the US Open in the same year.
Whether Taylor Fritz will be able to end this 20-year streak is questionable. The American No. 1 will face Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. The betting odds do not give the local hero much hope.
I also decide with my Fritz Djokovic tip at odds of 1.72 at Bet365 for the bet “Win Djokovic with set loss”.
This duel actually pits two top 10 players against each other. However, the bookmakers do not necessarily trust the US American, the world number 9, much.
With average odds of 5.27, the local hero is the clear underdog. On the other hand, the odds for a win by “Nole” are just 1.17 on average.
Here, the bookies take into account not only the Serb’s previous Grand Slam successes, but also the direct comparison between the two players in the Fritz Djokovic forecast.
If you trust the underdog to win at least one tiebreak, you can get odds of 1.72 at Interwetten.
A year ago, Taylor Fritz experienced a very bitter moment in his career at the US Open. The man from California was eliminated already in round 1 against Brandon Holt (ATP No. 303).
This year things are going very differently for the world No. 9. In Round 1 against Steve Johnson (ATP No. 205), he made short work of his compatriot in a 6:2, 6:1, 6:2 win.
That was followed by a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over Juan Pablo Varillas (ATP No. 74). In the 6:1, 6:2 and 6:0 against Jakub Mensik (ATP No. 206), the 25-year-old even gave up only three games.
This was the first time in eight attempts that the world No. 9 had reached the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows. There, Fritz then had to deal with Dominic Stricker.
The Swiss had previously knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. But the Swiss player had nothing to gain from his 6:7, 4:6, 4:6 defeat of Taylor Fritz.
At least Stricker was the first player at this tournament to take a service game from Fritz. This is the second time in his career that the US tennis pro has reached a major quarterfinal.
The first time the Californian had reached the round of the last eight at a Grand Slam was in Wimbledon in 2022. There followed an elimination in 5 sets against Rafael Nadal.
This year, the world number nine has a record of 50:19, with 34 wins and 8 losses on hard court. In the last two Masters, he reached the round of 16 and the quarter-finals.
Novak Djokovic wants to win his 24th Grand Slam title in New York. But this year, the Serb is not untouchable. This was shown in the third round match against his compatriot Laslo Djere.
Here “Nole” was already trailing 0:2 in the sets. The big favorite was unusually susceptible. Only in the third set did the world number 2 find his game and in the end won 4:6, 4:6, 6:1, 6:1, 6:3.
For the eighth time in his career, the “Djoker” was able to turn around a 2-set deficit. He has achieved this feat four times in major tournaments.
In all four cases (US Open 2011, Wimbledon 2015, Roland Garros 2021 and Wimbledon 2022) Djokovic also won the title in the end. This time, too, the victory was a statement for the 36-year-old in the end.
On the one hand, he was still able to play a 5-set match late in the night. In addition, a victory after a 2-set deficit is a testament to a particularly high level of morale and fighting spirit.
In the round of 16, Djokovic had much less trouble in his 6:2, 7:5, 6:4 win over Borna Gojo (ATP No. 105) from Croatia. With this success, the Serb reached the quarterfinals of New York for the 13th time (in 17 attempts).
Looking at all Grand Slams, “Nole” is in the round of the last eight for the 57th time. The man from Belgrade hopes to win his fourth title at the US Open. So far, he has reached the final nine times in Flushing Meadows.
Regardless of how the tournament progresses for the “Djoker,” he will replace Carlos Alcaraz as world No. 1 again on September 11. Last year, Djokivic missed the Major in NY and can therefore collect especially many points this time.
The direct comparison between Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic is pretty one-sided so far. The Serb has won all seven duels. Only in one duel “Nole” did not remain without losing a set.
In the third round of the Australian Open 2021, the two professionals faced each other for five sets. In the end, the “Djoker” won 7:6, 6:4, 3:6, 4:6 and 6:2.
The last encounter between the two top-10 pros took place last month. Here, the US pro lost in the quarterfinals of the Masters in Cincinnati flat 0:6, 4:6.
Summary: Both pros played a good tournament and gave up their serve only once in the round of 16. On the one hand, Fritz remained virtually unblemished on his way to the quarterfinals.
And Djokovic was already on the verge of elimination in round 3. But with his experience and success in Grand Slam tournaments, the Serb is rightly the favorite. In addition, there is the H2H against the US professional.
The weapons of the Californian, such as the serve or the forehand, can all be countered by “Nole” quite easily. So I come to the same conclusion as the bookmakers.
But with the support of the crowd, I trust the local hero to win one or two sets. My tip for the match Fritz vs Djokovic is therefore: “Win Djokovic with set loss”.
