With the hard-court season heating up and the final Grand Slam looming, American tennis is writing a new chapter. While the women have missed out on semi-final spots at the Canadian Open, the men are making noise, with Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton set for a blockbuster all-American battle for a place in the final. One moves forward, the other bows out, but Fritz, with a Master’s title under his belt and years of experience, carries a nation’s weight. Yet as the North American swing rolls toward the roaring lights of New York, the big question lingers: Does Fritz feel the pressure? The American star has now made an honest admission, and Grand Slam glory still looms heavy.

Taylor Fritz was just shy of pulling off another serving masterclass under the Toronto lights Tuesday night, but the victory over 2024 finalist Andrey Rublev was the only stat that truly mattered. With that straight-sets triumph, 6-3, 7-6(4), Fritz stormed into the semi-finals of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and etched his name in history as the first American to reach the semi-finals at all nine current ATP Masters 1000 events. But, as New York draws near, the Californian doesn’t dodge the question: Does he feel the heat of Slam glory? The answer is real. The pressure is on.

In the glowing aftermath of his quarter-final win at the Canadian Open, Taylor Fritz faced the press with the same honesty he brings to the court. When asked about the looming pressure of the US Open while heading into Cincinnati next, the American didn’t flinch. “I don’t feel like I have a responsibility to do it, or I think I don’t feel like people are like counting on me or anything,” he said. “I think all the pressure that I feel is just the pressure that I’m putting on myself because I’m a competitor. I’ve given my, you know, whole life to playing tennis and that’s what I what I really want is to win a slam. So, you know, the pressure is definitely coming from just me wanting it and not from anywhere else.”

It was a moment of raw confession. Fritz isn’t playing for the headlines or history books. He’s playing for the dream he’s carried since childhood. But dreams, especially the ones that burn the brightest, often come wrapped in scars of past battles lost. American fans still carry the sting from last year, when Fritz couldn’t deliver the glory moment that would have ended American men’s two-decade Slam drought.

It was a night to forget at Flushing Meadows. Jannik Sinner stood tall, shutting the door on Fritz with a ruthless 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 performance. The Italian’s precision left no room for error, and though Fritz showed flashes of brilliance in the third set, it wasn’t enough to tip the scales. The drought, stretching all the way back to Andy Roddick’s 2003 title, lived on.

Still, for Fritz, the walk onto Arthur Ashe Stadium that night was unforgettable. “Just kind of walking on the court, and just hearing the crowd go crazy, and just kind of soaking in the moment of, ‘I’m walking out to play my match on Ashe in the U.S. Open finals,’ is what I dreamed about my whole life,” he reflected. “It almost got me emotional, but I was just really happy and ready to enjoy the moment.”

Now, with fresh momentum from Toronto, Fritz marches forward, eyes on redemption, heart full of fire, and no pressure but his own.

Taylor Fritz opens up amid Canadian Open chaos

On a breezy evening in Toronto, Taylor Fritz wasted no time making his presence felt. He came out swinging, blasting three aces to clinch the opening set 6-3 with signature power and poise. But just as he seemed in full control, Andrey Rublev pushed back. The Russian clawed his way into the second set, determined to stay alive. Fritz, however, wasn’t ready to fold. He broke Rublev to level the set at 4-4, but the Russian did the same to stay alive in the next game. In the tie-break, however, Fritz showed no mercy as he hammered his 20th ace to run away with the match 6-3, 7-6 (4). It was a battle that lasted one hour and 23 minutes, but the scars ran deeper. This marked their tenth career meeting, and with this win, Fritz took the lead 6-4.

More importantly, he carved a path into his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of the year, and set up a historic all-American showdown with Ben Shelton, the first such meeting in a Canadian Open semi since 2010. But before shifting his focus, Fritz didn’t shy away from confronting the chaos of the second-set swing.

“That whole game was so shaky for me. It’s weird because he was holding easy, I was holding easy. It felt so like calm and chill and all of a sudden I’m serving to be in the semis, the pressure of the game came out of nowhere,” Fritz admitted post-match.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat it, it was a tight game. My brain kind of turned off. The only thing you can do is come back and win the set. I would be a lot more upset about what happened in the game if I lose the match. Winning makes it feel not as bad,” he later added.

Now, with fellow American Ben Shelton standing in his way, can Taylor Fritz power through to book his place in the Canadian Open final?