At one point, Taylor Fritz had almost won his third round at the 2026 US Open. Powerful serves thumped across the court as he took the first two sets. Alas, the player ended up conceding three sets straight right after, losing the match to Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
At the press conference right after, Fritz was visibly shaken. He appeared on the verge of tears as he was confronted with a question that perhaps only rubbed salt in an open wound.
“I mean, yeah. I don’t even know what to say,” Fritz said when asked about his disappointment with the loss during the press conference. “I don’t really want to talk to anybody, see anybody, like I kind of just need to like get out for a couple days and just kinda get back to work. It’s just I don’t know how I let that happen today.”
Taylor Fritz’s loss was rather significant for a number of reasons. On paper, it was an upset because he lost to the No. 24 seed when he was the No. 9 seed in the tournament.
Fritz was also the runner-up of the 2024 US Open and reached the QF in the 2025 edition of the tournament. In fact, this is one of his earliest exits from the US Open in several seasons.
However, the loss is particularly painful because of how it unfolded. Fritz was in control for the first two sets. He won them with a 6-3, 6-4 score. This put him right at victory’s door with only one set left to win.
This is when Cerundolo turned the tide. He broke Fritz’s rhythm, and his groundstrokes found success. Suddenly, the favorite of the match wasn’t as comfortable as before.
Ultimately, Cerundolo took three sets in rapid succession. The final scoreline was 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the Argentine’s favor.
Therefore, Taylor Fritz was extremely close to victory; it all went south. The frustration wore on quickly. During the fourth set, Fritz was seen smashing his racket against his thigh as he continued to lose points.
“He was playing way better than me the first two sets,” Cerundolo admitted to the press conference later. “I started getting into it step by step and I think fourth and fifth I played really good tennis. I wasn’t finding that tennis in the previous sets, previous rounds.”
Now, Francisco Cerundolo has reached the fourth round of the US Open. This was, in fact, his first time playing in the famous Arthur Ashe Stadium. The player has truly made the moment memorable for himself.
His next opponent will either be Alexander Blockx or Flavio Cobolli. On the other hand, Fritz must return home, recover from the loss, and plan his comeback.