Tennis-Fritz fears he let down American fans with U.S. Open defeat

By Amy Tennery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Taylor Fritz enjoyed his deepest major run at the U.S. Open but said he felt as though he let American fans down after losing in the final, unable to end a long U.S. men's Grand Slam drought when he fell to top seed Jannik Sinner on Sunday.

No American man has hoisted a major trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003 and fans piled into Arthur Ashe Stadium hoping to see it happen, cheering wildly as they urged on the 12th-seeded Fritz.

But Italian Sinner's ruthless play snuffed out any hope Fritz might have had in straight sets and the American sat grimly at a post-match media conference, offering a withering appraisal of his performance.

"Right now I'm pretty just disappointed in ... just a lot of things on the court, how I played, how I hit certain shots. It sucks," he said after the 6-3 6-4 7-5 defeat.

"American fans, been wanting a men's champion for a long time, and I just, I don't know, I'm pretty upset with how I played. I feel like, I don't know, I feel like I almost let a lot of people down."

The progress Fritz made in New York was undeniable. He beat two top-10 opponents - former finalists Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev - en route to his first major semi-final, where he took down compatriot Frances Tiafoe.

It was the breakthrough he wanted after four previous major quarter-final appearances.

"There's obviously a lot of positives, and when I get some time to, like, cool down, you know, then I'll be happy about the fact that I made it to the final," he said.

He will get back into the top 10 as a result of his deep run at Flushing Meadows and will rejoin his countrymen to compete in the Laver Cup, leaving New York with at least one dream realised.

"Hearing the crowd go crazy and just kind of, like, soaking in the moment," he said.

"Like, I'm walking out to play my match on Ashe in the U.S. Open final (it) is what I dreamed about my whole life. It almost got me emotional, but I was just really happy and ready to enjoy the moment."

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)