Fritz, after de Minaur win: “I kind of just let my results do the talking”

Taylor Fritz got a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over the tricky Alex de Minaur at the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday. The victory ended up helping to secure his place in the semi-finals after Daniil Medvedev failed to win in straights sets against Jannik Sinner.

2024 was a landmark year for the American. Two more Grand Slam quarter-finals, multiple Masters 1000 semi-finals, and, most prominently, reaching his first Grand Slam final – at the US Open.

Fritz first took some time to give his impressions of the match v the Australian:

“He played two real good games to break me in the first, I felt like. Maybe those two games I didn’t serve my best, but I played well from the baseline. He outplayed me a lot. In the second set, it definitely didn’t look good for me. I kind of just fought really hard to stay in it, to get through some of those service games where I wasn’t serving great.

Felt like I was getting beat from the baseline. I found a way to stay in it, get the holds. I kind of started to find the rhythm on the serve at the end of the second. I think from the end of the second I served really well for the rest of the match. It just allowed me to take some pressure off of those serve games, start to put a little bit more pressure on his service games.”

Felt like I was getting beat from the baseline. I found a way to stay in it

After the match, Fritz was asked about whether it was his time to step up into the elite level, alongside the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner:

“Yeah, I think I wouldn’t say it’s my time because of, I guess, not the landscape of who I’m playing against and who’s around. I mean, it just so happens that I’ve been improving a lot over the last couple years and I’m playing great tennis. I’m excited about a lot of the things I think I can still improve on, that I’m working on. I feel like almost every part of my game has gotten better the last couple of years.

Definitely feeling more confident with my forehand, my serve, my return. I’ve been moving better, playing better defense. I’ve been able to come to net and finish some points, which obviously still working on. There’s been a lot of things. Yeah, I’m excited because I still think there’s a lot of room for me to improve.”

No American singles male player has won a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open, and it was Taylor Fritz who was the first such player to make a Grand Slam final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. The world No 5 was asked about the pressure that this may present:

“I don’t think anyone’s going to be considered enough until, I guess, someone wins a slam. I think I’ve probably shown through the years that, I mean, I’ve had the best results. Yeah, if people don’t think I’m good enough to win a slam, then yeah, you’re going to look to younger people that they think have more potential. I mean, that is what it is. I’ve shown why I’m the top American for the last couple years kind of every year with my results. I kind of just let my results do the talking. If that’s not enough for people, then it is what it is. Some people prefer people with more just flashier games.”

I’ve shown why I’m the top American for the last couple years kind of every year with my results

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