US OPEN

August 30, 2025

Taylor Fritz

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/J. Kym

7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What were you most pleased with in your ability to turn things around there?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Just kind of forget the second-set tiebreaker, problem-solve. I think it's easy to get really frustrated. I had two set points serving. One returning with the second serve where I just put a forehand into the net, hit it so bad. It's really easy to get frustrated on that, thinking like it was right there two-sets-to-love lead.

But at the same time, I kind of identified the problems. I wasn't returning his second serve well enough. I was kind of like pushing my forehand. I knew I had to hit it more on the second-serve return.

Then the first-serve return was just, I was not getting anywhere near it. I changed up the position, started taking it early. Chipping the forehands. Then immediately I started having success with that.

So just the ability to kind of just forget, put like a frustrating second-set tiebreaker behind and just problem-solve.

Q. I hate asking you the American question, but it was a really weird day just in how Ben lost and a tough loss for Frances. When it does feel like you guys were so close last year and with all the progress, Ben's had a good year, what do you make of a day like that? Is there anything to say, like, broadly, or is it just...

TAYLOR FRITZ: I'm happy, really happy to get through the day. It could have been a really rough one for all of us.

Yeah, it sucks. I feel bad for those guys, especially I feel bad for Ben. He's been playing so well, and for him to pull the plug, you know it has to be a really serious injury. Because you know at least on the court he was really feeling something, because he's an amazing competitor and he's going to compete through pretty much anything, I feel like.

Yeah, I mean, I was on the table getting ready. I hadn't really checked the scores. Out of nowhere my physio comes in and goes, Ben just pulled down and Frances is down two sets. I was, like, Wow, it kind of just came out of nowhere.

It's a rough day for the guys, and yeah, I feel for them.

Q. You talked a little bit about changing things up, maybe going bigger on your forehand, taking balls early, chipping returns. How long do you go in a match before you start to maybe shift gears? How different is it, maybe two out of three or three out of five with how long you let plan A go before you start to tinker with things?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Five, you get a lot more time to figure out what you want to do and maybe what the best thing to do is, and make the adjustments. But for me, it's a balance of trying to figure out, is the strategy bad or am I just bad? If it's working.

So for a while when I was standing back trying to return, I knew it wasn't working. I didn't have a breakpoint. He was acing me. I just thought I was doing a pretty poor job of returning second serves and just when I had my racquet on first serves, just not doing a good enough job putting it in. When I did then I wouldn't play really great in the rallies.

I was kind of, it took me two full sets of not getting a breakpoint to change my return positioning, because I didn't think it was necessarily a strategy problem. I thought it was just a me being bad problem.

But then as soon as I changed it, it was just easier for me to return. I did a lot, put a lot more returns in the court, and I think it made him think a lot more too. I think the positioning changed also. Got me more looks at second serves, and he maybe didn't hit the spots as well.

I think it affected him a bit, as well.

Q. Obviously resetting is always huge. Coco last night had a great comment about how she saw Simone Biles in the crowd and that kind of helped her reset. What went through your mind in resetting after that tough breaker?

TAYLOR FRITZ: It's kind of what I tell myself every time. When something like that happens, what else are you going to do? Are you going to kind of knock it over and whine about it and think about it and then lose the match? You're going to feel worse. The only thing I can do to make myself not feel like such a loser after that tiebreaker is just go win the match.

It sucks, like, you feel like you should be up two sets to love but you're not. You just have to accept it. Like I said, the only way to feel better is to just move on and win the match.