Taylor Fritz told by ESPN to launch shock US Open run with Novak Djokovic upset

Taylor Fritz is the last American man standing at the US Open and is being tipped to win the tournament by ESPN star and former tennis player James Blake

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ESPN analyst and former tennis pro James Blake has backed Taylor Fritz to capture the US Open title before his quarterfinal clash with record-breaking Singles Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

The American remains the sole domestic hope in the men's singles draw, after Ben Shelton pulled out of his third-round encounter with France's Adrian Mannarino and both Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul suffered defeats. The 27-year-old Fritz knows his way around the US Open's biggest stage. He reached last year's championship match against Jannik Sinner.

However, he endured a straight-sets loss to the World No. 1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in his maiden Singles Grand Slam final showing.

Nevertheless, Fritz is being backed to become the first American US Open champion since Andy Roddick claimed the title in 2003. He must first overcome 24-time singles slam winner and reigning Olympic gold medalist Djokovic, against whom he holds a winless 0-10 record, before a possible semifinal meeting with Carlos Alcaraz.

From there, he could face Sinner once more in New York, seeking revenge for last year's heartbreak.

"He doesn't have a serve of Ben Shelton or the wheels and sort of charisma of Frances Tiafoe, but he just keeps going about his business and winning, winning all the matches he's supposed to win," Blake told the Daily Mail. "So for him, it's just a matter of continuing to keep his head down and doing what he's been doing.

"He's just trying to get back to where he was last year into the finals, and he really does believe that he's going to be able to take that one step further.

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"I think it's really, really difficult, though, for anyone to possibly get through both, he would have to get through, most likely, Sinner and Alcaraz. And I think that's just so tough to do back-to-back."

This year, Djokovic is ranked below Fritz in the seedings. Nevertheless, Blake believes Fritz should embrace being the outsider.

"If I can convince myself that I'm the underdog: 'Hey, this guy's been playing well, hey, this guy likes this surface a little better.' Or, 'Hey this guy just had a big win. He's confident, I'm the underdog. I got to play well just to win this,'" he said.

"And I love that feeling, because then you're going to play your game, you're going to play way more aggressive. You're gonna play to win, not playing not to lose.

Blake concluded, "He's four in the world. And he's been a proven four in the world, not a flash in the pan."

Reflecting on his previous encounters with Djokovic, especially the early clashes in his career, Fritz admits he wasn't at the required level. But recent contests have been much tighter, with Fritz creating chances to trouble the Serbian legend.

"Yeah, the thing is I think it's spanned over so many years. Like, I think the first, almost like seven or eight times I played him, I probably just wasn't a good-enough player to really have that much of a chance unless I have the best day ever and he has a bad day," Fritz shared during his press conference after advancing to the quarterfinals.

"I think only the last couple times we've played I think I've been this just better player that can, you know, I'd say compete and have chances. You know, last time we played in, I think was it Shanghai, I mean, I had looks, I had set points in the second set.

"Like, I really should have probably won the second, taken it to a third set. But yeah, I think what makes it tough is he serves well, he serves aggressive on second serves.

"It's tough to take advantage of his serve for how well he also returns and just is from the baseline. He backs it up incredibly well with the serve. So it's tough to sometimes get on him the way that he's, I guess, getting on you with the return."

As for Djokovic, he's gearing up to face an "aggressive" Fritz before the American's home crowd. "I think over the years he has improved with his movement a lot," Djokovic commented about his quarterfinal adversary.

"Backhand is also very solid, very flat. For a big guy, he moves really well. I think it's quite underestimated how well he's moving, and particularly last couple years, which was something that was probably missing in his game from before.

"That's what got him to finals and several semifinals of Grand Slam. He's knocking on that door. So obviously final stages of the tournament, quarters, we played in quarters before here some years ago. It was a day match, I remember, but now it's going to be night match. Obviously different conditions."