The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 U.S. Open. NEW YORK — On Saturday afternoon, Taylor Fritz lost a two-set lead — and perhaps one of his better opportunities to win a Grand Slam title — as Francisco Cerúndolo of Argentina upset him in the third round of the U.S. Open.Fritz, the No. 9 seed and a finalist here in 2024, was the most accomplished hard-court player left in his quarter of the draw. He came into the tournament in good health and in form: He won the D.C. Open in Washington before reaching the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open.In New York, he won his first two matches without losing a set. In his second, against Italy’s flashy but streaky Mattia Bellucci, he lost just two games on one of those rare flow-state days.He appeared to be having another straightforward day on Arthur Ashe Stadium Saturday, winning the first two sets in 94 minutes. But then Cerúndolo, the No. 24 seed, stopped giving away easy points, and Fritz seemed to lose his feel for the ball.
It was as though the players had switched tennis personas after the second set, and Cerúndolo climbed all the way back to win 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 40 minutes.At the U.S. Open, a Filipino artist finds inspiration in Eala-maniaRebecca Tauber and Johnny SweetFritz landed just over half of his first serves when all was said and done. His forehand went off the rails. As his game deteriorated. Fritz started chattering with his coaches, Michael Russell and Paul Annacone. That’s never a good sign for him.Unlike several other American hopefuls, Fritz was in the opposite half of the draw to Carlos Alcaraz. Had he made the semifinals, he might have faced the No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev, who has been shaky in his first two matches and has spent nearly 10 hours and 10 sets on the court.Fritz has a 10-6 record against Zverev. Novak Djokovic, who has beaten Fritz in all 11 of their matches, lost in the first round. Alcaraz is just back from a wrist injury after four months on the sidelines. Jannik Sinner, who has also dominated Fritz in recent years, is nursing a knee injury. With such a draw, and such a lead, to lose was to never know what could have been.In the fifth set, Fritz was on the edge of having a chance to serve out the match, as Cerúndolo fell to 0-40 when serving down 4-3 in the fifth set. The Argentine promptly ripped five big serves, all of which prevented Fritz from getting his teeth into a rally.Francisco Cerúndolo recorded his second career comeback from two sets down, with the other also coming at the U.S. Open. (Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images)In the next game, with that opportunity gone, Fritz double-faulted for 15-30 and missed his first serve on the next point, allowing Cerúndolo to take control of the rally and gain two break points himself. Fritz went over to his chair to fix his shoelace, came back onto the court and netted a gimme short forehand to give Cerúndolo the opportunity that had seemed so ripe for Fritz just minutes before.He got another opening in the final game, as Cerúndolo made two errors to fall behind 0-30. But Fritz missed two forehands on the next two points, and Cerúndolo served it out from there.
