Taylor Fritz reached the final of the US Open in 2024 before losing in straight sets to Jannik Sinner. There was certainly no shame in the loss, as Sinner is one of the two best players of his generation. But American tennis fans were disappointed just the same, as it has been since Andy Roddick in 2003 that a man from the United States has won the home Grand Slam.
Fritz is at his best on fast courts where he can use his huge and repeatable first serve and excellent groundstrokes to power past most players, but Fritz needs to be in good form to do so. For much of 2026, he had struggled, though he began to rebound in form over the summer.
At the US Open, he has looked unbeatable, but he needed to show he could be as good against better competition. In the third round, he faced Francisco Cerundolo, a good player, but one who is better on clay.
Franicisco Cerundolo shocks Taylor Fritz at the 2026 US Open
Still, defeating Cerundolo turned out to be no easy feat. The Argentinian moves around the court well and has easy power himself. Fritz was going to have to take the match from his opponent and stay in excellent form for three good sets, at least. He needed more.
In the opening set, Fritz kept serving as if no one would ever have the chance to break him, but it was his groundstrokes that were exceedingly good, clipping the lines at ease. He got the only break he would need and took the set 6-3. At least Cerundolo knew that his three wins were one more than the total Fritz's second-round opponent, Mattia Bellucci, got against the American in the entire match.
In the second set, Fritz got a break early, and then another, and Cerundolo's body language indicated that he thought his opponent was just better at that point in the match. He did get a break at 1-4, however, and that likely delivered some needed energy to the Argentinian.
With Fritz trying to get through his third-straight three-set match, he had a huge dip in form, suddenly struggling to hold serve and losing grip on his forehand. If no one knew who had taken the first two sets, one might have assumed it was Cerundolo. He was the player with better poise and form, and Fritz was struggling to literally find his footing.
The Argentine won set three 6-3, and the American appeared more comfortable attempting to run around his forehand and get to his backhand. This was unlike his normal form and had to be stressing for the player and his team.
Another issue is that the normally excellent serving Fritz was shockingly struggling to land his first serve, doing so less than 50 percent of the time between the third set and early fourth set combined. He appeared to be struggling a bit physically, not running after some balls and not helping himself with his serve.
At 2-all in the fourth set, and on break point, Fritz hit a serve that Cerundolo, standing far back from the baseline, hit to the middle of the court, and Fritz returned by hitting the ball far too long. It was an odd mistake by a player who was dominating earlier in the match. Something seemed off, and he was likely on the cusp of being the victim of a huge comeback.
The Argentine got the break he needed and took the fourth set 6-4. He had all the momentum entering the fifth set. He was the second American early on Saturday to give up a lead they shouldn't have. Madison Keys did the same thing.
Still, if Fritz could somehow suddenly increase his form, he would be the dominant player in set five. He couldn't, however. The American struggled to land his first serve and kept pushing unforced errors. He seemed ill, even though he wasn't. Cerundolo was the one with time on his side, and he took the fifth and final set 6-4 by staying poised and under control.
After leading by two sets, Taylor Fritz had stunningly given up the lead. With that, his hope of winning the 2026 US Open.
Francisco Cerundolo will ext play the winner of the Alexander Blockx and Flavio Cobolli match in the fourth round. Any of the players could make it to the final of the US Open.
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