Taylor Fritz later said of his defeat: \u2018I don\u2019t really want to talk to anybody \u2026 I don\u2019t know how I let that happen today.\u2019 Photograph: Brian Hirschfeld\/EPA<\/p>\n
In the absence of an obvious favourite in obvious grand slam-winning form, this tournament is such a great opportunity for any player with aspirations of winning a grand slam title. Fritz, who was high up on the list of names hoping to take advantage, was understandably disgusted with the way he let this opportunity slip. In the deciding set he had three break points for a 5-3 lead and the chance to serve for the match.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even know what to say,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t really want to talk to anybody, see anybody. I kind of just need to get out for a couple days and then just get back to work. I don\u2019t know how I let that happen today.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the day, seven American men remained in the singles draw: Ben Shelton, Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Learner Tien, Tommy Paul, Alex Michelsen and Michael Zheng. In the bottom half of the draw, where the fourth-round berths were decided on Friday, there is an American man in each of the four matches. Fritz\u2019s defeat is a warning to any of his compatriots with hopes of becoming the first American man since Roddick at the 2003 US Open to win a grand slam title. More opportunity means more pressure. The coming week will reveal so much about the character of every player in the men\u2019s draw.<\/p>\n
Saturday proved a challenging day for American players as a whole. Two days after Madison Keys completed one of the more dramatic comeback victories of her career, saving five match points en route to her tight three-set win over Anna Bondar, she suffered one of her worst ever collapses. Keys led Zheng Qinwen 5-0 in the final set of their third-round match before collapsing in the final set as she lost 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5. \u201cI think she started playing better; I started playing poorly,\u201d Keys said. \u201cThen I felt like I couldn\u2019t play tennis any more, and it just was \u2013 it just felt like it was a much bigger deal than just playing a tennis match all of a sudden.\u201d<\/p>\n
skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to The Recap<\/p>\n The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend\u2019s action<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Zheng Qinwen set up a last-16 match against Iga Swiatek after fighting back to beat Madison Keys in three sets. Photograph: Heather Khalifa\/AP<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788674892_870_1235.jpg\")
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