Taylor Fritzs season has been quite satisfying so far. The American player hoped to win his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, where he played a great tournament also beating Alexander Zverev and his compatriot Frances Tiafoe, but had to give up in the final to Jannik Sinner.
ADVERTISEMENT
Fritz has taken full advantage of his fans' support in New York, got excited and played his best tennis for wide sections of the tournament. Although he was a setback on the eve of the match against the worldnumber 1, the American player was convinced that he had the right weapons to shock the whole world and win his first Major.
Taylor has often surprised everyone when he had the chance to play in the USA, as evidenced by his amazing triumph at Indian Wells in 2022. The US Open final against Sinner turned into a one-way match, in which the Italian ace managed well to prevent his opponent from playing comfortably.
Fritz committed a large number of unforced errors and ended up giving in for three sets to zero, only reacting when the situation was now compromised. After that match, the 2022 Indian Wells champion admitted he was very disappointed and had not touched the racket for several days.
ADVERTISEMENT
Fritz is adifferent player
The American ace won his first match in Shanghai against Terence Atmane and he will face Japanese ace Watanuki in the next round. During the press conference, Taylor spoke about his evolution as a player: "Last year, when I was here, I also played at a very high level. I think in the last three years of my career, I have been a different player, but obviously, I come here with confidence and in a great position in the race this year, hoping to finish the year strongly."
The feeling is that Fritz needs a further step from a technical and mental point of view to be able to become a real top player and win a Grand Slam title. Recently, the runner-up of the 2024 US Open also spoke on the controversies related to the ATP calendar. The complaints had begun with the words of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, which had triggered reactions from some colleagues and insiders.
ADVERTISEMENT
I agree that its tough for the tour to shorten the schedule when players will just play Exos to fill the time, and Ive seen a lot of people criticizing some of the players asking for a shorter season because they go and play Exos he explained. I dont understand that part of the argument, because playing an exo vs a tour event arent comparable to each other in terms of burn out physically and especially mentally. A tour event can be 5+ days of playing all out and mentally being dialled in on all things on and off court, VS an exo you show up, have some fun and entertain for a match or two. You dont have to all out push your body and there is absolutely 0 mental fatigue or stress.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a lot of ways an exo is a lot like a rest week and shouldnt be compared 1:1 with a tour event. I dont expect non players to fully comprehend what I mean by this because its tough to judge the mental and physical fatigue that playing tour weeks entails if you not a part of it, but I would fully expect players to understand what I mean by this he added.
Some regrets
Taylor was one of the protagonists of the 2024 edition of the Laver Cup, which took place at the Uber Arena in Berlin just over two weeks ago. Team World has come close to a third consecutive victory against Team Europe, but Carlitos Alcaraz was decisive on the last day. After winning in doubles with Casper Ruud, the 4-time Grand Slam champion defeated Fritz in the last singles.
ADVERTISEMENT
The defeat in the final at the US Open was very bitter for the American champion: Carlos, Novak and others lost early and that opened the draw. But in the end, you can only beat the opponent who is on the other side of the net. But its positive, yes. Im in the final without feeling like I played my best tennis during this tournament. It was solid, but not exceptional. The backhand wasnt as good as usual. Yes, maybe tournaments are more open. It doesnt seem like you have to play some incredible tennis to get far into the paintings, but Carlos and Novak were gone. If I had to play Novak, I would have really had to be a great tennis player. But, in the state, just playing solid, you can aim for a quarter-final. But to beat the best, nothing changes, you always have to give your best.
