Preview: US Open: Tomas Machac vs. Taylor Fritz - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Tomas Machac hopes Lady Luck will smile upon him against Taylor Fritz this time when both players face off in Sunday’s US Open fourth-round match.

The Czech player is yet to win in their previous encounters, but it has not been for the want of effort, and the world No. 21 hopes to capitalise on his recent form to upset the fourth seed on home soil.

Match preview

Machac entered the final Grand Slam of the year out of form and after losing a first-round match at Wimbledon.

That Championships loss at the hands of Danish qualifier August Holmgren was the first of three defeats, with further setbacks against Reilly Opelka and Adrian Mannarino in Canada and Cincinnati preceding New York.

While wins en route to the last 16 have been against lower-ranked opponents, defeating the talented Joao Fonseca was commendable and quite straightforward, considering previous struggles.

Having not made it to the last 16 of the previous Slams in 2025 — third round in Australia, first round at Roland Garros and second round at Wimbledon — the 24-year-old has now surpassed his previous best this season.

Now, the Czech aims to break new ground by defeating the American No. 1 to reach the quarter-final of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Fritz is the opponent on the other side of the net, and the American seeks another victory over the world No. 21 ahead of their third meeting on the men’s tour.

The home hope avoided a shock exit on a day Ben Shelton retired injured against Mannarino, while Frances Tiafoe fell in three sets to Jan-Lennard Struff, leaving the 10-time ATP champion as the only American, and the only man from his country, in the top 10, with 14th seed Tommy Paul striving for a last-16 spot.

As for Fritz, defeating Jerome Kym 7-6(3), 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4 brought him close to reaching three consecutive quarter-finals in New York following the previous two years, an improvement for a player whose ceiling on home soil was the third round until 2023.

Since reaching the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows, Fritz has advanced to four more in Australia and Wimbledon (twice) and last year in the United States.

One more victory would give the 27-year-old 20 US Open wins, moving him further ahead of his 18 Wimbledon victories and into another last-eight contest in the final Grand Slam of the year.

Tournament so far

Tomas Machac:

First round: vs. Luca Nardi 6-3 6-1 6-1

Second round: vs. Joao Fonseca 7-6(4) 6-2 6-3

Third round: vs. Ugo Blanchet 7-5 6-3 6-1

Taylor Fritz:

First round: vs. Emilio Nava 7-5 6-2 6-3

Second round: vs. Lloyd Harris 4-6 7-6(3) 6-2 6-4

Third round: vs. Jerome Kym 7-6(3) 6-7(9) 6-4 6-4

Head To Head

United Cup (2025) - Semi-final: Fritz 6-7(4) 6-5 ret

French Open (2020) - First round: Fritz 7-5 7-6(2) 1-6 2-6 6-3

Although Fritz has won previous encounters on the ATP Tour, the American has not easily overcome Machac.

The Czech player nearly overturned a two-set deficit against Fritz in their first-round match at Roland Garros five years ago and retired injured despite winning the first set at this year’s United Cup.

Machac, however, has a 4-16 career record against the top 10 — 0-4 in 2025 — highlighting his difficulties against the top opponents.

We say: Fritz to win in four sets

Out of the blue, Machac has unexpectedly regained some of the best form that helped him reach the top 20 in the men’s rankings at the beginning of 2025.

However, Fritz, a finalist here 12 months ago and a quarter-finalist two years back, is predicted to defeat the Czech player, thereby setting up a quarter-final clash with bete noire Novak Djokovic or Jan-Lennard Struff.