Taylor Fritz says he is at "80 percent" health-wise but also acknowledges that he expected to have some tough matches early on in Indian Wells after dealing with injury issues last month.
After getting bounced in the Australian Open third round, the 27-year-old dealt with an oblique injury and he went only 2-2 across Dallas and Delray Beach. Then, he pulled out of Acapulco due to an abdominal injury.
However, Fritz was able to recover just enough to be able to compete at the Indian Wells Masters. And so far, he has clinched wins over qualifier Matteo Gigante 6-3 7-5 and Alejandro Tabilo 4-6 6-3 6-1.
"I feel healthy. But yeah, I'm not going to feel as good tennis-wise as I have been, like, playing a lot of tennis and super confident, just because, yeah, had to take some time off to get it better. I'm not going to, I guess, feel like I have the proper prep. I knew I was going to have to play myself kind of into the tournament, and I'm doing that," the world No. 4 said when asked about his physical state.
Fritz on the key to his comeback versus Tabilo
After winning the first set, the 30th-seeded Chilean was also 3-2 up in the second set but without a break. From that moment on, it turned into a one-sided affair as the third-seeded American won 10 of the next 12 games.
When asked what was the key, the 2024 US Open runner-up simply said that he realized that he needed to stop shooting himself in the foot with unforced errors.
"I just stopped making super-random mistakes. For the first set and a half, I just, for no reason, was just missing balls. I couldn't even imagine, I don't know why I was missing them," Fritz said.
The home favorite American plays against Jack Draper in the Indian Wells round-of-16.
