Taylor Fritz's bid to finally end America's 23-year Grand Slam men's title drought collapsed Saturday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, as the No. 9 seed blew a two-set lead and fell to No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, in the US Open third round.

Fritz had cruised through his first two rounds without dropping a set, and raced through the first two sets against Cerundolo just as comfortably. Then his game unraveled. He began committing unforced errors he'd avoided all tournament, and by the fourth set, according to Yahoo Sports, "the match made a surprising 180-degree turn" as Cerundolo seized control entirely.

A Costly Collapse

The turning point came in the decisive fifth set at 3-4, when Cerundolo fended off three break points from love-40, struck a forehand winner to reach game point, then sealed the game with an unreturned first serve before immediately breaking Fritz's serve to close out the match, according to the ATP Tour's recap.

THE EARLIEST EXIT AT HIS HOME MAJOR IN FOUR YEARS.

It's a bitter result for Fritz, who reached the 2024 US Open final before losing to Jannik Sinner and had been considered one of the strongest American contenders to finally break the men's title drought that stretches back to Andy Roddick's 2003 championship. Cerundolo, playing his first-ever match on Arthur Ashe Stadium's main court, advances to face No. 28 Alexander Blockx — who upset No. 5 seed Flavio Cobolli earlier Saturday — in Monday's fourth round.

The US Open continues through Sept. 13, with the men's semifinals and final set for the tournament's second week.