MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

August 4, 2023

Taylor Fritz

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/J. Thompson

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Taylor. Almost three hours on court this afternoon, and you went on court again after three hours to play Thompson. You managed to get the win in straight sets. How did you feel about your performance today?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I feel good. I think that the match with Andy earlier was insanely high level. I thought he played really well. I thought he served really well.

Yeah, it was a war. Just with how these balls are, they're so, like, just slow dead, it's really tough to, like, finish points. You're going to just inevitably have these really long, physical rallies.

Yeah, I did a great job to win that. And then I did a really good job to kind of come back and play how I played in that last match.

You know, I feel like I probably couldn't, my body probably couldn't have handled another, like, battle like I had with Andy, as much as I would have -- as much as I'm ready for it and I'm ready to compete, I don't think my body probably could have taken that.

I did well to just come out kind of just on fire to start both sets. Then I could kind of just coast a bit more on his serve and really just, like, focus, using all my energy and just focus on holding my serves. That's what I did really well in both sets of the last match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Not sure if you have a history of this, but as far as playing two matches today and then having to play again tomorrow, if you could think back if you have done that...

TAYLOR FRITZ: No, I don't think I have. Not since I was, like, a kid, you know, like playing, like, the local Southern California tournaments where they make you play, like, you play your consolation match in the morning and then your match in the afternoon (smiling).

It's a little more physical now (smiling).

Q. So how do you feel? How do you think? You have never done it before. What might tomorrow present? What challenge does that now present?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Who knows, like, I feel pretty good now. I feel really good now, to be honest. I think who knows how I'm going to wake up feeling after, you know, a five-hour day in, like, heat, humidity?

But as for now, I feel good. I have been playing a lot of tennis, so my body is, you know, acclimated. I'm match-fit. I mean, just today, I'm super proud of myself.

Last year obviously not being able to train for this event and not being super fit coming, and I couldn't even finish just a straight-up one match. So to have a crazy three-hour one and then come back and play at the level I played in the second match is great.

Q. It might seem like this was a week ago now, but I just wanted to get your reaction, maybe your thoughts in the moment of what went on with that protest at 3-1 against Andy? Could you tell what was going on right away, or...

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, pretty quickly. Once I saw the signs -- the first thing I thought was, look around, make sure no one is jumping on the court, because at Laver Cup, someone ran on the court and, you know, tried to light a fire on court. That was my first thought.

But my thoughts on it in general are, like, I get they're protesting, but, like, there's just got to be a better way to do it. Who's going to -- like, I don't understand how people are going to get behind a cause when you're ruining everyone else's good time. Like, it doesn't really make sense to me.

I said, as a joke, Oh, wow -- because it's annoying obviously when they do it. It's ruining everyone's time. Everyone wants to watch the tennis.

So I jokingly said, Honestly, this makes me want to go fly on jets more (smiling).

I think, you know, they're supporting a good cause, but the way they're doing it, like, who's going to want to listen when they're just annoying everybody.

Q. Completely different topic, I just want to ask, how did you spend the time between the matches? How much of it had to do with recovery versus maybe just resting a little?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I mean, it all pretty much had to do with recovery. I went straight to -- I biked a little bit. Cooled down. Got some food in me. Immediately just started drinking, trying to get a lot of electrolytes in me, not just water. Then showered and got in an ice bath for, like, five, six minutes.

Then I just kind of relaxed and tried to -- I just laid down and relaxed for, like, 30 minutes or so. Then it was time to start doing all my prematch stuff, so I just got right back into it.

Q. You have had or you're going to have a pretty busy two-month stretch. You had UTS weeks back, Atlanta, won Atlanta. This week playing two matches in one day. Then Canada, Cincy, US Open. Do you think you can play all these tournaments back to back to back and sustain yourself physically?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I think so, but the thing is, like, when I plan my schedule, obviously, yeah, the thing is, okay, let's say you have a big week in Atlanta. You win Atlanta. You have a big week in D.C. Like, okay, then you're tired for Toronto. Maybe you lose first round, second round Toronto.

The way tennis works with, like, points and ranking, it rewards people who win big and then lose early as opposed to someone who is just very consistent. If you tell me I'm going to win two tournaments, win a tournament, do well in another one, and all it's going to cost me is one bad week somewhere, I'll take it.

So if I'm dead the week of Cincinnati or I'm dead the week of Toronto because of really good results, it is what it is. Then I'll have the rest of that week to, like, recover and then I will be back at it for the next week.

That week of US Open will be off, so what really matters the most is being fresh for US Open. So I'll definitely be fresh for the Open.

It is what it is. You know, I'll keep it going as long as I can. I like playing a lot and playing a lot of matches. If the end result is one of these Masters I'm a little exhausted in, like, I take all the good results before that.

If Atlanta happened to not go well, if D.C. didn't go well, then I would be fresh for those two Masters. So the schedule, it is what it is, you know.

Q. You play Tallon Griekspoor next in the semifinals. Can you give us thoughts on that upcoming matchup?

TAYLOR FRITZ: To be honest, I don't, like, I don't have the best idea of his game. We have never -- or I guess we have played before, but it was so long ago, I feel like me dissecting that match wouldn't really do anything (smiling).

So I definitely have to watch a bit, do some research, and obviously the main focus is me recovering and feeling like I can go at it and have a battle if I need to tomorrow.