"I've had a lot of big wins, but never against Djokovic, Rafa, Federer, I definitely had it in my mind that I could win" - Taylor Fritz reveals how Indian Wells win against Rafael Nadal helped in Wimbledon QF
Taylor Fritz is all set to take part in the Citi Open three weeks after going down against Rafael Nadal in a nerve-wracking Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Fritz lost to Nadal in a marathon five-setter, with the decider going into a tie-break in which the Spaniard prevailed before going on to withdraw from the tournament citing an abdominal tear.
Fritz Effing Does It!
Taylor Fritz becomes the first American man to take the title in Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001... beating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6 (5) to do it!
Both Fritz & Nadal struggled with injuries through the match but gave all they had.
Fritz leaps to #13! https://t.co/x43hRQ5utm
Over the course of a press conference ahead of the ATP 500 tournament, the American revealed that his win over the Spaniard in the final of the Indian Wells Open gave him much-needed belief that he could prevail against the Big 3.
"Yeah, I mean, I felt like the biggest takeaway from that match was just kind of mentally, I proved to myself that I could kind of get over that hurdle of one of the extremely big names. I've had a lot of big wins and I've played a lot of good matches, but never against Djokovic, Rafa, Federer. I think that's kind of like a big mental hurdle to get over," Fritz said.
"I definitely, like, had it in my mind that I could win. Just kind of believing that and knowing that is a huge part of being able to beat any of those guys," he added.
Taylor Fritz has a disappointing 0-5 head-to-head record against Novak Djokovic and a 0-2 win-loss record against Roger Federer.
Thanks to the win at Indian Wells, the American has a far more respectable 1-2 head-to-head against Nadal.
Fritz also spoke of his excitement ahead of the big quarterfinal against Nadal and the disappointment that it did not go his way in the end.
"Yeah, I think it helped me in the Wimbledon match. I was really excited for that match. I felt really confident about that match. It sucks it didn't go my way in the end," he said.
"I want to be playing every week and playing every tournament" - Taylor Fritz
During the presser, Taylor Fritz revealed that his immediate aim was to stay healthy and play tournaments more regularly, which would help his ranking improve.
The California-born player also asserted that Wimbledon not having ranking points was something that hurt him given the fact that he reached the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam.
Thank you SO much for the picture, @Taylor_Fritz97! https://t.co/2cugmuZ5ym
"Like I said, I've had lots of struggles this year with kind of staying healthy. That's kind of the biggest thing I'm trying to manage right now, is I want to be playing every week and playing every tournament. I feel like if I'm healthy and I'm playing every tournament, I'm not honestly too worried about it. I think the level is there. I think I'll finish top eight," Fritz opined.
"It's kind of trying to balance that, making sure I'm healthy, making sure I can play all the tournaments, perform well at the big ones. Obviously Wimbledon not having points hurts me a good amount. In the end, it's the most fair thing to do," he added.
Fritz, who is currently World No. 12, stated that he wished to break into the top 10 before attempting to ascend further up the rankings.
"Yeah, I think the first goal is to be top 10, then the goal after that is to make sure I can finish in the top eight," the Wimbledon quarterfinalist asserted.