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NATURE VALLEY INTERNATIONAL

June 28, 2019

Taylor Fritz

Eastbourne, England

T. FRITZ/K. Edmund

7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A good win today. Your progress has been pretty steady. Just your thoughts on the week.
TAYLOR FRITZ: It's been a good week, you know. I played pretty well my first couple rounds. And yesterday and today I didn't necessarily play my best tennis, but I really kind of just toughed it out and won the big points.

You know, I'm just happy to get through, because both my last two matches, today and yesterday, I could have easily lost.

Q. Would it be a disappointment now if you didn't go on to win the final? I think a lot of people would see it as a good achievement either way.
TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, it's a good week for me. It's the first final I have made in three years. It's been on my mind for a long time.

It's tough, like, the second ATP event you make, you play to make the final, and then you just -- you lose in the final, so now you want to win a title. You kind of expect it of yourself. So I have been expecting it of myself for three years now.

It's a good week, and I'm just gonna go out and play loose and not think of it too much as a final and not put too much expectation, because then that's going to cause me to not play my best tennis, and I'm just going to take it like any other match.

Q. Sam has been in a similar situation. He's had injury. It's been a while since he's been able to put together this kind of run. You have obviously played him a bunch of times. Your thoughts on him, his progress?
TAYLOR FRITZ: It's interesting, because yeah, he hasn't played since Houston. But I practiced with him the day that he got here. And, yeah, he didn't play any leadup tournaments, either. This is his first tournament back.

I practiced with him the day he got here, and I thought he was playing unbelievable. I was, like, wow, he hasn't missed a beat. He's playing great. It's not surprising to me at all that he is in the final.

Yeah, we have always had close matches, always had matches that can literally go either way. It comes down to a couple of points. I have been playing the big points well this week, so it's going to be a good match.

Q. What's it like for you when you end up playing in a tournament against someone who you practice and hit with regularly? Do you have to get your mindset going in a different way?
TAYLOR FRITZ: No, I dealt with it a lot in the juniors. There were so many Americans kind of at the top of the juniors when I played, so we were constantly running into each other in all the big tournaments.

It's something I got used to, like, really early on. So I don't really think about it too much anymore.

Q. Has this been quite a whirlwind year for you? I first spoke to you at Surbiton last year and your transition in these past 12 months has been quite incredible, hasn't it?
TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I have been working really hard. It hasn't been so much of a whirlwind, because I think I really experienced that when I was 18 and I went from about 140 to 50.

So since then, I have just kind of been expecting a lot of myself. I think I'm finally kind of doing what I have expected of myself for a while.

Q. Were you surprised by how straightforward today ended up being?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I wouldn't say it was very straightforward. I mean, that's not what I thought. I thought it could have gone either way.

It was really nervy. So many chances for him in the second set to break me. I'm happy to get out of it in straight sets. Yeah, I didn't really know what to expect from the match today. Obviously happy to get through in straight.

Q. How is it playing someone who is playing at home and has the crowd behind him?
TAYLOR FRITZ: It's tough, but I have done it lots of times before. I can't let it bother me. People are just rooting for their countryman. I'd do the same thing if I was them, so you can't, like, get upset about it or anything like that.

You kind of just have to deal with it and try to keep yourself pumped up. Yeah, just kind of go with it.

Q. Looking ahead to Wimbledon next week, you've got Tomas Berdych in the first round. What do you think of that match?
TAYLOR FRITZ: I don't know. I have never played Berdych, and I don't think he's played...

Q. Since Miami, he hasn't played.
TAYLOR FRITZ: Since Miami? Okay. I mean, I don't know. I'm just kind of focused on this match here. Part of me almost didn't even want to look at the draw at all, because I just want to focus on this tournament, and then I'll switch gears after tomorrow's match and start thinking about it.

Q. Did you find the crowd fair?
TAYLOR FRITZ: Well, they cheered for Kyle a lot more than they cheered for me. But that's to be expected. Like I said, I would do the same (smiling).

You know, that's normal. It is what it is.

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