Taylor Fritz gains former NBA star Jason Collins' "mad respect" with his "commitment and sacrifice"
Taylor Fritz received words of appreciation and encouragement from Jason Collins after the former NBA player watched Netflix's tennis documentary "Break Point."
Focused on showing behind-the-scenes footage of players during tournaments, the docuseries released its first five episodes on Friday, January 13. The series covers the next generation of tennis stars during the first half of the 2022 season.
World No. 9 Fritz took to social media after Break Point's release to ask his followers about their favorite episode. Collins, 44, responded by saying that while he was already a fan of the American tennis player, his respect grew further after watching the third episode, which featured the 25-year-old.
"Dude, I was already a fan, but after watching the Indian Wells episode, Mad respect for how hard you compete, your commitment and sacrifice. Best of luck in the Australian Open," Collins tweeted.
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🏾. Mad respect for how hard you compete, your commitment and sacrifice. Best of luck in the @AustralianOpen 
🏾@Taylor_Fritz97 Dude, I was already a fan, but after watching the Indian Wells episode— 🙌🏾👏🏾. Mad respect for how hard you compete, your commitment and sacrifice. Best of luck in the @AustralianOpen 👍🏾
Fritz was one of the rising stars who captured the tennis world's attention last year when he won the biggest title of his career so far at Indian Wells. On his way to the Masters 1000 crown, he defeated the likes of Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
Before the title clash against Nadal, who was on a 20-match winning streak, the American suffered severe pain in his ankle during a practice session. Despite the doctors and his team asking him to withdraw from the match, Fritz fought through the pain and won the contest in straight sets.
The Spaniard also complained about pain in his ribs during the semifinals against Carlos Alcaraz, which was later revealed to be a stress fracture.
Taylor Fritz hopes Netflix’s tennis documentary ‘Break Point’ will attract new fans to the sport
Taylor Fritz will begin his 2023 Australian Open campaign on Tuesday against World No. 89 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.
In a recent conversation with the ATP Tour, the American revealed his expectations from "Break Point." He is hoping that the docuseries will succeed in bringing new fans to tennis, especially in America.
"I think that one of the things I’m looking forward to the most coming from this is hopefully a big boost in popularity and people caring about the sport of tennis in the United States," Taylor Fritz said.
When asked if he was excited to watch the show, the 25-year-old stated that he wasn't too keen on watching himself.
"I don’t necessarily want to watch myself, but I don’t know. I feel like I’m going to have to watch it, but I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily excited to see myself or watch myself," he added.