"Now I am a different player";"I hate more than anything losing in QF and SF" - When Taylor Fritz & Jannik Sinner last faced each other on US soil
Jannik Sinner once took pride in his growth as a player after beating Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Indian Wells Masters. The American, meanwhile, expressed regret about falling short of the title after coming so close.
After winning the biggest title of his career at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, Fritz set his sights on defending his title at the 2023 edition of the prestigious event. Entering the tournament as the fourth seed, the American triumphed over Ben Shelton, Sebastian Baez and Marton Fucsovics to book his place in the quarterfinals.
No. 11 seed Sinner also produced an impressive run, beating Richard Gasquet, Adrian Mannarino and Stan Wawrinka to set up a blockbuster quarterfinal clash against the defending champion. The highly anticipated encounter marked a rematch of the duo's fourth-round clash at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, where Fritz secured a dominant 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Battling it out for a place in the semifinals, Jannik Sinner made a strong start to the contest and clinched the opening set 6-4. Although Taylor Fritz made a valiant comeback effort by winning the second set, the Italian claimed a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory after a two-hour and 12-minute battle.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Fritz expressed his frustration about missing out on a win that was within reach. He also revealed that he "hated" losing in the quarterfinals and semifinals of tournaments, lamenting that it was disappointing to not receive a major rankings boost after a deep run.
"Like I said, I hate more than anything losing in quarterfinals and semifinals of tournaments. You do all the work, and then do all the work of winning like three, four matches, and then don't really get the payoff or like the points and the ranking," he said.
However, the American disclosed that it was easier to accept the loss because Sinner was the better player in the contest and deserved the win.
"Like I said, he was the better player and he played a lot of the situations in the match better than I did. He deserves to win. I don't know, I guess it's a little bit easier to take a loss when you feel like the other person did, you know, did play well and did deserve it," Fritz said.
Having made immense progress since his straight sets loss to Taylor Fritz at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, Jannik Sinner opened up about evolving into a "different player" after addressing his struggles with his coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill.
"So it was tough for me, and we started exactly one year ago, me and Simone, where at some point I was a little bit struggling on court to understand when to do this or not. But now I am a different player. Also with the mindset I know when to do things or when things are not working, trying to change as soon as possible," Jannik Sinner said.
"You know, all this kind of stuff, it's part of my growing, for sure. Yeah, so I think the things are going quite well. For sure I still have a lot of things to improve, but thinking back in one year time, we have changed a lot of things," he added.
"I still think Taylor Fritz is such an incredible player, I have a lot of respect for him" - Jannik Sinner after Indian Wells Masters QF win
During the same press conference, Jannik Sinner disclosed that he had anticipated a "tough match" against Taylor Fritz, especially with the crowd passionately cheering for the home favorite.
"For sure happy, no, playing against him. When I saw the matchup already yesterday, I knew that what I had to expect. Tough match. Also, a little bit with the crowd, which is not against me but is more for him," Jannik Sinner said.
The Italian also lavished praise on Fritz, calling him an "incredible player" and predicting a successful season ahead for him.
"Yeah, but I still think he's such an incredible player. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think he's going to have, again, a super season," he added.
Despite his impressive performance against Taylor Fritz, Jannik Sinner fell short against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters, suffering a 7-6(4), 6-3 loss.