Novak Djokovic 'aura' still untouched, says US Open quarter-final opponent Taylor Fritz - 'That's never going to change'

Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz will go head-to-head in their US Open quarter-final on Tuesday, and the American said the prospect of facing the 24-time Grand Slam champion is just as challenging as it has ever been. Djokovic became the oldest player to surpass the fourth round at Flushing Meadows since Jimmy Connors in 1991, as he hunts a record-breaking 25th major title at the age of 38.

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Taylor Fritz feels Novak Djokovic's "aura" is still very much intact as he prepares to face the 24-time Grand Slam champion in the US Open quarter-finals.

Djokovic remains in the hunt for a 25th major title, which would see him pull clear of Margaret Court in the all-time record books.

At 38, and with the emergence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as the dominant duo at the top of the men's game, it has become an increasingly difficult task for Djokovic to clinch the feat - his last Grand Slam triumph coming in New York two years ago.

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Despite that, Fritz - who booked a quarter-final tie against Djokovic by beating Tomas Machac on Sunday - says facing the Serbian is still as difficult a task as it has always been.

"I wouldn't say that the aura of Novak being Novak has worn off at all," the American world No. 4 said. "No matter what, he's around. You're going to acknowledge the fact that it's Novak and he holds pretty much all the records in tennis. That's never going to change.

"But I think that what's different is there have been some guys now that are coming up and able to beat him.

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"I still think when he shows up to the Slams obviously, the level is still as much there as it was before.

"I don't look at it like he's more vulnerable than before. I look at it as the same, but I also look at it that I've improved a lot as a player."

Despite having not yet won a Grand Slam title, Fritz has certainly lodged himself among the relatively recent forces which saw the shift from the "big three" to the new generation of top men's players.

The 27-year-old had struggled to make a deep run in a Slam this year until he arrived at Wimbledon, where he reached the semi-final before suffering defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic holds an imperious 10-0 head-to-head record over Fritz, but the American feels that statistic is potentially misleading.

"The thing is, I think it's spanned over so many years," Fritz said. "I think the first, almost 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.

"I think only the last couple times we've played, I think I've been just better player that can, I'd say, compete and have chances.

"The last time we played, I think was Shanghai, I had looks. I had set points in the second set. I really should have probably won the second, taken it to a third set."

And the home favourite at Flushing Meadows said he is focusing on imposing his own game on Djokovic in hope of gaining his maiden win over the four-time US Open champion.

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"I've played him a lot, you know, so the last couple of times, I am just thinking about me," Fritz said. "The biggest thing I need to think about that's different from maybe other matches I play is just in those tight moments. I need to play more to win and not to lose, if that statement makes sense.

"I think when I'm playing lower-ranked players a lot of times, if I'm not feeling it, not feeling my best, I can trust that if I'm solid and I just don't make mistakes and I compete hard, a lot of times they'll kind of give it to me or they'll make mistakes.

"But against the top guys, and I learned this too, something I touched on after the Wimbledon loss to Carlos, is in those moments, because you're playing someone who they're where they're at for a reason, they're not just going to hand it over to you. They're not just going to give you a random mistake on a big point. You have to maybe pull the trigger and go out and take it from them.

"Outside of that small thing, it's very much like playing any other match and playing within myself, because I believe I'm at the level now with my game where I can do that and win."

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