Taylor Fritz has expressed some cautious optimism ahead of his quarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic at the US Open.

Ninth seed Fritz has had a solid run at the last Grand Slam of the year in New York. The American is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows, having moved past Steve Johnson, Juan Pablo Varillas, Jakub Mensik, and Dominic Stricker to reach the quarter-finals.

In his Round of 16 match, Fritz won the tiebreak in the opener before going on to dominate the next two sets, winning 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4. Meanwhile, 23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic has had a similarly successful run so far but was taken to five sets by compatriot Laslo Djere in the third round.

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Djokovic dominates head-to-head but Fritz remains optimistic

Djokovic currently dominates their head-to-head with a 7-0 lead. However, Fritz made it clear in his on-court interview after his recent win that he was remaining optimistic.

"Novak’s gotten me a lot. But I think one of these times I’m gonna get him so I'll keep trying ... At least I hope," he said.

The American crowd went wild at this statement, as the 25-year-old continued:

"Obviously, if it comes to that I've got nothing to lose so I'm going to go out there and I'm going to have fun and I'm going to play my best tennis because I know when I do, I give myself a chance."

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A win will be a big ask for Fritz. The two players last met at the Cincinnati Open two weeks ago, where eventual champion Djokovic ousted him in the quarter-final of the ATP Masters 1000 event. The American didn't even get a game on the board until the second set, with the Serb flying past him 6-0, 6-4.

Nevertheless, much greater surprises have happened in tennis and an upset of this scale would certainly help Fritz's confidence going forward into the rest of the Slam.