"Didn't even know if I was going to be able to play this tournament" - Taylor Fritz on the dire circumstances that almost prevented him from winning Tokyo Open
On Sunday, Taylor Fritz defeated Frances Tiafoe to win the 2022 Rakuten Japan Open, his third title of the year. After two hours on Tokyo's hardcourts, the American won 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to win his fourth career title.
With his triumph, Fritz has now become the first American to enter the Top-10 since Jack Sock in November 2017. When the rankings are refreshed on Monday, he is projected to be ranked eighth in the world.
500 FRITZ 🖐
@Taylor_Fritz97 beats compatriot Tiafoe 7-6 7-6 to capture his first-ever ATP 500 title! https://t.co/2LOsyjLhCm
Taylor Fritz spoke on his harrowing journey from being quarantined in Seoul after having COVID to winning the title in Japan during his on-court interview. The American claimed that doing something like this felt "so good," dealing with a challenging health scare and turning it around with a title run.
The 24-year-old was proud of himself for being so "clutch" during such a tense situation, especially with a spot in the ATP Tour Finals on the line.
"Yeah. I mean, turning such a bad situation where I was, you know, didn't even know if I was going to be able to play this tournament. And if I wasn't able to play, it would have to be after being in a hotel room for seven days, having COVID and then taking a flight in the morning of," Fritz said.
"So turning a situation like that into a title and doing it when it has such an important impact on the race, it just feels good to kind of clutch up and do something big like this," he added.
"It just feels good to kind of clutch up and do something big like this." 😊
@Taylor_Fritz97, on his harrowing journey from quarantine in Seoul to the title at #RakutenOpen https://t.co/gkVIa0oZUC
"It’s so crazy, it’s exactly what I needed for my ranking"- Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz described the entire experience of winning the 2022 Tokyo Open as "amazing" and added that he desperately needed a title win to improve his ranking.
"It's crazy, I don’t even think it’s set in just how fast the last four or five days have been. It’s so crazy, and I couldn’t have written it any better. It’s exactly what I needed for the Race, for my ranking, to kind of put me in a good position for the end of the year, so it’s amazing," Taylor Fritz stated, , as quoted by the ATP Tour website.
According to Fritz, he entered the competition with a lot of confidence and knew he could play well enough if he could only get past his first two matches, which he did with flying colors when the situation called for it.
"I came here confident that I could win a round or two and then see how it goes. I felt like if I could get through my first two matches, then I would probably be playing good enough tennis. So I think that was the real question mark, was those first two matches. But I honestly had a lot of confidence that I was going to win those," the American revealed.