"It's very tough to hurt him, to get it past him" - Novak Djokovic the toughest baseliner to play against, says Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz has declared World No. 1 Novak Djokovic the toughest baseliner on the ATP Tour at the moment, pointing to how strong the Serb is on both sides of the court.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion capable of dictating points with his pace on the ball as well. As a result, it was hard for the American to pick anyone else as the best baseliner he has seen in his career.
While Djokovic had to withdraw from the 2023 Indian Wells Masters due to vaccine mandates, Fritz has been going strong in his title defense in California. He has reached the Round of 16 with a sound 6-1, 6-2 victory over 30th seed Sebastian Baez.
"I mean, tough not to say Novak. He's so strong off of both sides. Also so fast, as well, it's very tough to hurt him, to get it past him. If you're too safe, then he can also kind of push you around and dictate you as well," Fritz said in his press conference after the win over Baez.
"There's a lot of guys that are great from the baseline. Kind of just depending on the day. But I feel like I do have to say Novak, for sure."
The World No. 5 also touched on the pressure on him at the tournament, joking about how he has been reminded that he is the defending champion every hour by the press. However, Fritz was not one to buckle under duress.
He stressed that he was treating it like any other tournament and that his ultimate focus was to score as many points in the ATP Singles Race at the end of the year.
"I'm reminded that I'm defending the title every, like, hour or so (smiling). It's tough to forget that, but I am trying to take it like how it is, you know. We start over at zero, the race, the race is the race," Taylor Fritz said.
"I'm just trying to have good results to put myself in the best position to end the year at the highest spot in the race. I'm trying to take it like that, like it's any other tournament, but it is pretty tough to not know that I'm defending a title. Yeah, I'm getting constantly reminded of that."
"I hate to be injured, I'm always probably pushing it, for better or worse, to try to get back on court as quick as possible" - Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz also touched on his ability to bounce back quickly from injuries during the press conference. He admitted that he has been very lucky to return to action as soon as possible after fitness concerns in the past.
The 25-year-old attributed it to his willpower, commenting that he hated being on the sidelines and that, for better or worse, he always pushed to make comebacks sooner rather than later.
"I think I've been very lucky, but obviously I do recover from things very quickly. I think a lot of that is like my willpower and, like, I hate to be out, I hate to be injured," Fritz said.
"I'm always probably pushing it, for better or worse, pushing it to try to get back on court as quick as possible when I have an injury. Whether it be a stress fracture last year where I came back from it twice, probably too early, or it's the knee a couple years ago before Wimbledon.
"I don't know. I've been very lucky coming back quickly after injuries and not doing further damage to it luckily from rushing these comebacks."
Up next, Taylor Fritz will lock horns with Marton Fucsovics in the Round of 16 at the 2023 Indian Wells Open.