	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2016

Taylor Fritz

London, England

S. WAWRINKA/T. Fritz
7‑6, 6‑1, 6‑7, 6‑4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. First time on a big court, slam for you. What was the whole experience like?
TAYLOR FRITZ: It felt great, you know. It was really good to step on, on to the court, the atmosphere. I was really happy with the fact that I didn't really ‑‑it didn't bother me. I wasn't nervous. So, you know, that was something I was worried about, maybe to step out there and lock up, but that wasn't the case at all. It felt pretty comfortable on the court, so, you know, it was a great experience.

Q. Tennis‑wise, what do you take out of this match?
TAYLOR FRITZ: From this match, you know, I think I can't really just afford to play some sloppy points and sloppy games against such great players. They really take advantage of that, and they don't let you back into the sets after you kind of made a couple of mistakes. They really get you.

Q. Going to the U.S. hard court season. What are your plans for that time of year? First time doing that at the ATP level.
TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, it's tough. It's a tough schedule, because U.S. hard court swing, I want to play every single one. Yeah, I see so many tournaments, and I can't like ‑‑like I want to play this one, play this one.
I think it's tough. I think I'm going to play Newport, and then Washington. I think I'm going to skip Toronto, and then I'm going to play through, I believe.

Q. You're not playing Rio?
TAYLOR FRITZ: No, I don't believe I'm getting into Rio.

Q. When you saw the draw, were you happy or would you have preferred an easier opponent?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I didn't really ‑‑I mean, someone else that I maybe felt more confident against. You always want the best draw you can possibly get. I was excited to see the opportunity and have the chance to play one of the best players in the world.
So, you know, excited and also like, Eh. You know, when I see my draw, I don't really complain or anything like that. I try and just be positive about it.

Q. Stan said he was waiting for a complicated battle, that he knew you were going to be a tough opponent. Did you already feel like you're on kind of the watch list of those top players already? How do you explain that?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I really don't know. You know, I would hope that I'm not because maybe I could surprise them (smiling). But if I am, then, you know, that means I'm always going to get those guys prepared, ready play me.
It makes me pretty happy that he'd say that. I just hope that I can keep moving forward and some day make it closer, maybe even win.

Q. It was on Twitter recently you got engaged. That's a big change. What's the reaction been?
TAYLOR FRITZ: Nothing's really changed, to be honest.

Q. It's a big step.
TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, it's a big step. We have already been traveling the world together for almost three years, so she's pretty much part of the team at this point. (Smiling).
Pretty much everything is the same, to be honest. It's great. I'm really happy for everything, and I think that the general consensus is some people may say I'm too young, but a lot of positivity.

Q. Winning the third set in the tiebreak must have been encouraging. I mean, you're playing a guy, you know, who's a Grand Slam winner. You're down two sets and then you come back and win. Prove anything?
TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah. It meant a lot to me to be able to come back and win that third set after losing the first two, because I got to show my fight and my ability to keep it going.
You know, after losing two sets to one of those top guys, it's very easy to kind of just fold and say, It's over, let them win it and kind of go away.
I really wanted to keep fighting and keep pushing him. So I was happy I was able to get that third.

Q. As a young player, there might be a few things you're looking for, winning matches, game confidence might be one thing, working on your strokes, and game management may be another. Just enjoying the game, enjoying the process. Could you just take a minute and reflect on how you balance those different elements?
TAYLOR FRITZ: You know, there is definitely a time and place for everything. When you're on the road playing all these tournaments, you've got to focus on your game. You can't be changing things around with your strokes.
I'm always trying to get in the gym and work on my fitness whenever I get the chance. If I lose early in the tournament I'll be in the gym all that week, because I have the time preparing for the next week.
But, you know, on the road, it's pretty much just trying to manage your game. Once you get back home, give yourself a couple of weeks to train, that's when you work. If you feel like you need to make changes, you make changes. That's definitely the time to do it.
So, you know, I have been gone for a while, so I have just been trying to manage my game. I'm excited to go back home and work on some stuff and improve.

Q. By the end of the year, what would you like to achieve?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I would like to break into the top 50 this year. That would be a goal for me.

Q. Recently you played Roger and today Stan. I wonder how much you look back at these matches? Do you go back and look at them again? Do you let them go away or move on with practice?
TAYLOR FRITZ: You know, I look back at them in a healthy way, you know. Just to analyze some of the things that I could do to make myself better. You know, I try not to beat myself up over the stuff, like, that could have been.
You know, but I definitely look back just to see how I look playing against one of these top guys. It's, you know, weird to be watching these guys my whole life growing up as a kid, and then stepping on the court with them.
It's just all great experiences, you know.

Q. What do you see when you're watching yourself play? How do you look to yourself?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I see a lot of stuff that I didn't see on court. Like I'll see them set up for a ball. I'm like, you know he's going this way, and, like, you definitely see a lot clearer when you're not the one on the court.
You know, I think sometimes I also think, Wow, I didn't think the shot I hit was that good or could have been better. You know, it's mixed, you know.

Q. How much of today were you 100% there and how much of today was a little bit out of body?
TAYLOR FRITZ: You know, I felt like I did everything I could pretty much in the first set and the third set. Any set I play where I don't drop my serve, you know, I'm happy with that. If I lose a set, then it is what it is.
I definitely played a couple of sloppy points to start the second and the fourth. That got me down early and definitely too late to recover. I tried to do it in the fourth. I started playing, in my opinion, my best tennis of the match towards the end of the fourth set.
But, of course, two breaks down on grass against such a great player, it's too late.

Q. Did you think or talk about the rarity that you walked out here at 18 and debuted against a big opponent and so did your mother when she was 18? That's really unusual.
TAYLOR FRITZ: I didn't know that.

Q. You didn't know?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I did not know that.

Q. I did.
TAYLOR FRITZ: Who did she play?

Q. Billie Jean.
TAYLOR FRITZ: What was her score?

Q. 1‑1.
TAYLOR FRITZ: So did I better. (Laughter.) That's good.

Q. That's why you haven't heard?
TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, that's why I haven't heard about it.

Q. Is the plan still no challengers from here on out? You said that in Paris.
TAYLOR FRITZ: With the hard court swing coming up, for sure. I think this is definitely the ATP tournaments I feel most comfortable at. The whole reasoning for the ATP clay season was just because I felt like it would give me the most experience, and it did.
I think I could potentially be higher ranked if I wanted to spend my time playing challengers because I don't really have any points to defend, you know, from two months ago to October after US Open.
So I'm just trying to do what's best for my game. I think that's staying at this level and playing against these better players and improving.

Q. It's a significant plus to have a parent who played on the tour. Just talk about what your mom has told you, what you've learned from her. Just talk about her role.
TAYLOR FRITZ: You know, both my parents were professionals. My mom a top‑10 player. They have definitely both helped me get to where I am now. Obviously I wouldn't be here without both of them. They have taught me ways to just have fun and enjoy it without putting too much pressure on me, which I really appreciate, you know.
Growing up you see a lot of crazy tennis parents (laughter) who really make it like do or die for their kid if they win or lose. I'm really fortunate to have some parents that cared and just wanted me to have fun and never really pushed me to pursue it in a professional way.

Q. There are a lot of great players now on the tour. Djokovic just a master Craftsman. Roger has his beauty. What player inspires you most among the top players recently in tennis?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I always looked up to del Potro when I was a kid just because of the way he played pretty fearlessly. He had a big serve and big forehand like how I try and play. It's pretty much I looked up to him more because our games are similar and he's just a great guy on and off the court.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297