"Thought it wasn't going to be like this" - Taylor Fritz bemoans "long" ATP season; discloses 'awful' physical & mental toll
Taylor Fritz, currently competing in the Shanghai Masters, said the physical and emotional toll of the "long" ATP season has been "awful". He also opened up about playing through injuries in 2024.
The seventh-seed defeated 12th-seed Holger Rune in the fourth round of the 2024 Shanghai Masters on Wednesday, 9 October. The American has played over 60 singles and 15 doubles matches this season.
During his post-match press conference, Fritz was asked how he felt mentally and physically as the season nears its conclusion.
"Pretty awful," Fritz smiled and said.
He mentioned that initially, he had hoped ranking higher would allow him to skip more tournaments, but going deeper into big events has, in turn, led him to play even more matches than before.
"Yeah, I mean, it's like the season is too long. I always thought if I got ranked higher I could play less, and I am, I am playing less tournaments, but I'm also winning a lot more matches at the big tournaments, so I'm playing probably more than ever, even though I thought it wasn't going to be like this (laughing)," he added.
The World No. 7 holds a 45-19 record in singles this season after his win over Rune in Shanghai. He has won two titles and one of his best results of the year came a month ago when he finished as a runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the US Open.
"I've kind of just been playing through" - Taylor Fritz opens up about playing through injuries this season
Continuing his answer about the "long" ATP season, Taylor Fritz admitted during the press conference that he has been playing through injuries.
"Yeah, I've been dealing with injuries since the French Open that I haven't had time to get to go away, I've kind of just been playing through," Fritz said.
He explained that while his injuries were not severe enough to sideline him entirely, they were still present.
"If an injury is not completely bad enough to keep me out, then I'm just going to play, I don't want to, you know, waste months, and just slowly it gets better, and it kind of has. That's not just me, at this time of the year most of the guys have been going all year, everyone's dealing with something," he added.
Up next for Fritz is a quarterfinal clash at the Shanghai Masters against David Goffin. This will be the third encounter between the pair on tour and their first in over three years. Their head-to-head is tied at 1-1 with their previous face-off in Doha in 2021 going Fritz's way 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(9).
The American is also in a prime position to qualify for the ATP Finals as he is ranked fifth in the Race to Turin ahead of the Shanghai quarterfinals.