Taylor Fritz must now win the Cincinnati Open for one simple reason

Who are you most worried about ahead of the US Open?

Some big names are struggling for form…

With that in mind, Fritz must win the Cincinnati Open, or risk losing his status as an elite player on tour.

Taylor Fritz must win Cincinnati as the only Masters 1000 champion in the field

Fritz has won 96 career matches at the Masters 1000 level, more than any other player in the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals.

He is also the only former champion remaining in the draw, having won Indian Wells four years ago.

Cincinnati Open quarter-finalists at Masters 1000 events

Judging off experience, you’d give Fritz the trophy now, but tennis doesn’t quite work like that.

The American has had several opportunities to add to his Masters 1000 tally since winning Indian Wells in 2022, but has failed time and time again.

Taylor Fritz’s best Masters 1000 results since winning Indian Wells

• Semi-finalist – 2023 Monte Carlo Masters (Lost to Andrey Rublev)
• Semi-finalist – 2024 Madrid Open (Lost to Andrey Rublev)
• Semi-finalist – 2024 Shanghai Masters (Lost to Novak Djokovic)
• Semi-finalist – 2025 Miami Open (Lost to Jakub Mensik)
• Semi-finalist – 2025 Canadian Open (Lost to Ben Shelton)
• Quarter-finalist – 2022 Monte Carlo Masters (Lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina)
• Quarter-finalist – 2022 Cincinnati Open (Lost to Daniil Medvedev)
• Quarter-finalist – 2023 Indian Wells (Lost to Jannik Sinner)
• Quarter-finalist – 2023 Miami Open (Lost to Carlos Alcaraz)
• Quarter-finalist – 2023 Cincinnati Open (Lost to Novak Djokovic)
• Quarter-finalist – 2024 Italian Open (Lost to Alexander Zverev)

A player of Fritz’s quality really should be a multiple Masters 1000 champion by now, especially in an era where the top players often skip the ‘mandatory events’.

So, with the draw opening up for him once again, this is the perfect opportunity for Fritz to win his second title.

If he does, he will head into the US Open full of confidence, returning to world number five and reminding fans that on his day, he truly is one of the best in the world.

Fall short again, and some might start to wonder if Fritz will ever win another ‘big’ title on tour.

At 28, Fritz is several years older than many of his closest rivals. His Grand Slam/Masters 1000 window will begin to close if he’s not careful.

Taylor Fritz’s path to the Cincinnati Open title

Fritz will take on the in-form Brandon Nakashima in the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals.

He won their most recent meeting, in Washington, but did lose the one time they met in Cincinnati, two years ago.

Leading 4-1 in their head-to-head, Fritz will surely fancy his chances of securing his spot in the semi-finals, although he would be wise not to underestimate Nakashima, who is playing the best tennis of his career.

Should he reach the semis, Fritz would meet Lorenzo Musetti or Frances Tiafoe.

Musetti looks to have finally found his footing after an injury-hit season, and Tiafoe seems like a different player since he had a cyst removed in his hand earlier this month.

Fritz will be aware of the challenges both players could present, but should lean on his Masters 1000-winning experience to secure the win and his place in the final.

There, he could play Tommy Paul, Flavio Cobolli, Thiago Agustin Tirante, or Arthur Fils.

The bad news for Fritz is that he doesn’t have a winning head-to-head record against any of the players he could meet in the final.

Fritz is 3-3 vs Paul, 0-1 vs Fils, 0-1 vs Tirante and has yet to play a professional match against Cobolli.

Perhaps his past results against those players could fire him up for the final, but only time will tell.

For now, Fritz will focus on his quarter-final match against Nakashima.

Fritz and Nakashima will battle it out for a place in the last four on Friday, August 21.