US OPEN

August 26, 2024

Taylor Fritz

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/C. Ugo Carabelli

7-5, 6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Convincing victory. Assess your performance today.

TAYLOR FRITZ: It was okay. I felt like just not like out of the ordinary first-round US Open, come out like a little nervy. I didn't play a great first set. More so, like, the first game I served, and then when I served for the set, was also pretty bad.

But kind of loosened up after the first set and felt like I played pretty solid the next two sets.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Two things, if I may, Taylor. One, winning that first set down Love-40, what was the mindset, playing one point at a time and kind of battling against a guy you never played before? How were you able to get that rolling back in your favor? And two, you've been here enough times now, do you have a routine that you find works in terms of practice, where you stay, how you prepare, both physically and mentally to play in the US Open?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, for the first part, I felt like I wasn't really thinking too much about breaking him when I was down 40-Love. I kind of thought, probably just going to go to a breaker, which I didn't really care about that. I was fine. I felt fine playing a breaker.

But yeah, I mean, his second serve, a lot of times, would kind of sit. So the Love-40, I kind of just pulled the forehand inside in like aggressively, and then played a solid point at 15-40. Once it gets to 30-40, then it's like now I feel like there's a solid chance of breaking. So I kind of played the points from then on a bit more, I guess, safer, more serious, and that's when I kind of felt like I could probably just get the break.

Then to the second part, yeah, some things change. Like, I don't have, I guess I don't do everything exactly the same, but by now I do know, like, what kind of practices, preparation, stuff like that kind of works for me. Not just at the Open, just everywhere. I kind of know what things I guess have to do, and I know myself well enough to kind of have just certain routines I'm doing all the time that I feel like if I'm not doing it, then I'm not of, I guess, preparing properly.

Q. How does it feel different playing at a home slam versus the other ones? Does it change? Do you find yourself thinking different things as you're walking onto the court or across the grounds?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, it's awesome to be playing at your home slam with the crowd and just everything going on. It's, like, amazing to be at the Open. I'd say going out first match, it's a little, a little bit more stressful (smiling).

But, you know, it's good to kind of get by this first one and just feel a lot looser now.

Q. Looking back to the Olympics, how much fun was winning that bronze medal in the doubles?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, it was an awesome experience. I think my main goal there was to leave with a medal. I think if we would have lost that third, fourth playoff, it would have hurt a lot (smiling).

So, yeah, I'm really, really glad Tommy and I were able to get that bring one back.

Q. Some people have said almost winning a bronze is better than winning silver because you finished on a high. Can you understand that?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I've been told statistically that bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists. (Laughter.)

Yeah, but, I mean, I would have loved to have a chance at gold with Tommy. We were playing really well.

But, yeah, we were pretty upset after the semifinal loss, and immediately all I told him was, like, look, if we're upset now, how bad are we going to feel if we don't come back and win the bronze? Let's make sure we focus back up and, you know, win the next one (smiling).

Q. Next up is Berrettini. Any thoughts on the matchup?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, yeah, it's a tough second round. In the head-to-head I've been able to get him, but it's always been really close, as it always will be, because, you know, both of us are big servers. It's going to be a lot of serving, a lot of holding.

And, you know, it's going to, in the end, come down to how, you know, we perform. We have a chance, you know, and how I play when I'm breakpoint down and how he plays when he's breakpoint down, stuff like that. If someone comes up with something on a big point, it's small margins when there's two people with big games playing each other.

Q. This year we have five American men in the top 20. You know that there hasn't been an American winning this tournament since Andy Roddick in 2003. I'm curious if you ever talk to any of your American colleagues on this. Is it more of a media thing, or do players talk about the fact that it's been a 21-year drought?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I don't think we talk about the fact no one has won a slam, because that's pretty obvious. I think we all know that (smiling).

Q. Tim Henman used to say he felt the hopes and dreams of a nation when he played at Wimbledon. Curious if that's...

TAYLOR FRITZ: We all, like, want to be the ones to, like, end it. But, I mean, I don't think -- we don't really talk about that. We've talked about the fact that we've got five guys are now in the top 20. We've talked about like we just have a lot of, like, good players, but not so much about the fact no one has won one.

Q. What do you know now about handling this tournament specifically that you've learned over the years?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I don't know if I've really learned anything. (Laughter.)

Sometimes you get, I don't know, sometimes you get nervous; sometimes you don't get nervous.

It's so, like, random sometimes, I feel like. You know, I had that one, had the first-round loss two years ago, and then last year I was, like, as stressed as I've ever been playing a tournament, because I didn't want that to happen again, I needed a good slam result.

I played really well in all my matches. Like, I got to the quarters and I don't think I dropped my serve on the way to the quarters. It's, like, so random.

But I do know it is just about taking it one match at a time, and doing your best to care, but at the same time not care, is what I like to say.