Taylor Fritz Turns to Coco Gauff Before Haunting US Open Battle With Novak Djokovic

0-10, that’s the daunting record Novak Djokovic holds over Taylor Fritz. Pure domination. Yet, with every defeat, Fritz has been learning, adapting, and closing the gap. Now, after his victory over Tomas Machac on Sunday evening, he stands as the lone American man in the quarterfinals. But fate has thrown him right back into the lion’s den, Djokovic awaits. With memories of past losses lingering, Fritz steps in with renewed determination to shatter his haunting streak. And for inspiration? He’s looking toward Coco Gauff. How? Let’s dive in.

Among the flurry of questions thrown his way in the presser, one stood out: How does he plan to conquer his nemesis? Has he sought advice from anyone who’s faced a similar uphill battle, someone like Coco Gauff, who once trailed 0-7 against Iga Świątek before finally shattering that streak in the Cincinnati Open semifinals back in 2023. Well, Fritz expressed his thoughts as he revealed that he hasn’t talked to anybody. However, if he were to talk to Gauff about it, she would probably just say that she was better, “I mean, I think the way to turn around is just to, like, become a better player, you know. I think that Coco would probably say the same thing. I think she would probably tell me that she just was better at tennis when she started reversing the head-to-head.” Well, Gauff and Fritz are teammates, and jokes are just a part of their daily lives, but Fritz is now in a position where he could break his haunting record.

Talking about his head-to-head stats against arguably the greatest Tennis player of all-time, he stated, “I’m not thinking about all the losses I had to know back when I was, like, I don’t know, like five years ago. And, like, I was nowhere near the level of player that I am now. You know, what I’m thinking about fresh in my mind is, like, when we played at World Tour Finals, um, whatever year that was, I think 20, maybe 22.”

Reflecting on his long rivalry, he noted that in the first seven or eight encounters, he was simply not at the level to truly challenge the dominance of Djokovic truly. For example, he would have needed his best day and Djokovic’s worst. “I think, you know, only the last couple of times we’ve played, I think I’ve been this better player that can, you know, I’d say compete and have chances,” said Fritz.

This is a developing story…