BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 7, 2026

Taylor Fritz

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/J. Fearnley

6-3, 6-7, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: First of all, congrats, Taylor. There was a moment that made us nervous after the second-set tiebreak, but how did you manage to recoup and win?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, I think in general the way I played in the second set was perfect. I put myself in a position to win, serve out the set. That's all I can ask for. Even then I had several games of breakpoints I didn't convert in.

You know, I knew if I put myself in the same situation, you know, played the same way, gave myself chances to break, I'd have looks to break once, twice, three times in the third, and then I'd just kind of clean it up on my serve, not get broken serving for the match, and, you know, it's not like I felt lost.

You know, I just needed to do again in the third what I did in the second but just be a little bit more solid in some of the moments.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I wanted to ask you, like "pressure" is a word that's used loads in tennis and sport. At what point in your career have you felt that the most? Like obviously is it playing the US Open final or is it when you're way earlier and you're this talented youngster that people are talking about? When did you feel it the most?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I feel like you always feel the pressure the most, and I'd be surprised if other people answered differently, as well, I think you feel the pressure the most when you're kind of in a situation where you're meant to win or you're in a position to win and that's, you know, you don't want to, like, blow the opportunity, I guess.

If you have, like, you're deep in a tournament, you get an amazing break in a draw, or you're in a big match and you're ahead, you have a really good chance to win the match, I think it's those situations where -- because in those situations, I think those thoughts of, you know, how bad would it be to lose kind of sometimes can creep into your head.

I think when I'm playing my best tennis, I feel very confident in my game and I trust my game. Even when I'm in those situations where it would be so bad if I were to lose, those thoughts never cross my mind, because I just think there is no way, I feel so good and confident, there is no way I'm gonna lose.

I think a lot of it has to do with the moment, and a lot of it also has to do with how you feel yourself in that moment about how confident you are with your game.

Q. In a match like tonight, you're pretty much in control, serving for the match, you haven't faced a breakpoint up until then, and you lose your serve, and tiebreak is tight and he made some pretty big shots on match points, so then you lose the set. So there is no, like, little panic voice that's going on in your head at all? That's not even there?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, the panic is more when I'm about to get broken, serving for the match, or when I'm losing that tiebreaker. I think once that's over, it's just, like, reset, you know, let's chill out here.

Like I said, I didn't feel like I didn't have the answers in that set. You know, I blew several breakpoint opportunities, didn't break in several games, and still found myself 5-4, serving for the match, up in the tiebreaker, as well.

So I knew that if I brought the same level in the third and was just a bit more tidy on some of the big points, you know, then I could take care of the third set.

You know, different match. If I felt like I was getting outplayed, I didn't really have an answer, then, yeah, maybe I start panicking. I felt like, like I said, I felt like what I did in the second set, I could repeat in the third and just close it out that time.

Q. Can I ask about the shot clock and sort of where you are with that? Carlos seems really frustrated. Do you share that frustration, and is it about the implementation or is it about the rule?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I don't have that much of an issue with it. I think sometimes, you know, we can be a bit smarter with it if, like, if someone plays a long point and they finish the point at the net on the opposite corner, and we are playing somewhere where it's humid and you kind of, like, you need to towel off your hands in between points, then, okay, maybe you give the person an extra five seconds. And that's where the issue kind of comes in, because it just automatically starts after the point.

I had issues in the past when the umpires were the ones that were starting it, because I felt like some umpires would start it faster than others, so I always had an issue with specifically Fergus starting the clock super fast. And I'd never got called for time violations and no one ever got called for time violations against me, but then there was probably 10 in total in my matches when he was in the chair, and then it started just being automatic, like when the point ends, it just starts. It's not really up to the umpire.

Like I said, I think there can be some, you know, room to play around with it in certain situations, like if someone finished the point on the far side of the court at net, they need to go to the towel, there's just not enough time sometimes.