THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2026

Taylor Fritz

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/L. Sonego

4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Taylor, through to the second week of Wimbledon again. How does that feel?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Feels really good. The match today was really tough. I had to play well. I'm glad that I got one where I feel like I really had to play under pressure. Pushed me and tested me hard. I feel good about going into the round of 16.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How happy are you with winning in that style? I don't know if you feel like you're sending messages to yourself or others about what you can come up with in those sorts of moments.

TAYLOR FRITZ: For me, that's the most fun thing about tennis. For me, the most enjoyable thing about tennis is when I just come up with something big in a really important... People hit crazy shots all the time when it's 40-Love, when it doesn't really matter.

When, I mean, it's time, the match can either be won or lost in a couple points there. Coming up with the best shots is, yeah, it's like the most fun thing about playing tennis.

I think a lot of times I win big points by kind of like out-soliding people, playing really conservative and safe and letting other people make mistakes.

When I kind of come up with it, yeah, I love that.

Q. Do you ever surprise yourself in situations like that, or are you so aware of what you're capable of that you're not surprised?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, the pickup I hit at 5-All was pretty crazy. Like, my backhand flick pickup is probably one of my better shots, so I know I can do it. Like, I know I'm capable of it, but coming up with it at such a massive point where I lose that point, he has set point serving to take it to a fifth, and the way he was serving, chances are he's probably going to take it to a fifth.

Yeah, doing it in that moment is different. Even though I can hit the shot, coming up with it at such a big moment, it feels great.

Q. You've been playing on one of the covered courts today. Some of the players right about this hour have been complaining about how they stopped the match to close the roof. Do you think they should do it while the match is going on or not even close the roof unless it's raining?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Honestly, I don't know what the conditions are. I guess if they're closing it because of the light, I mean, you kind of just have to close it mid-match. It just depends when they start the match.

If they start the match at a reasonable time, where the match is a three-setter, two-and-a-half hours, they can actually finish without having to close the roof, I think that's fine.

If they start the match an hour before it's going to get too dark, so then they know they're going to have to close the roof for sure at some point in the match, then they should probably just start with it closed.

That's probably what I would say.

Q. I guess you were watching the third-set breaker of the match on...

TAYLOR FRITZ: I was on the bike cooling down. I saw the tiebreaker. It was tough. I didn't leave till I saw the end of it. That was kind of a crazy breaker.

Q. What do you make of those guys, playing one of them in the next round?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I don't really have, like, a preference between the two of 'em. Both are very crafty. Good grass court players playing well. In form. I mean, I have good stuff to go off of because I played both of them in this grass court season.

Yeah, I mean, no preference. But both really, really dangerous players. It's not an easy round of 16.

Q. If it is Frances, how do you feel about that rivalry in the pro chapter of your career?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, it's been good for me up until Halle, to be honest (smiling). Yeah, he got me. He got me pretty good in Halle. We've just gone back and forth with each other for a long time.

We're obviously such good friends, him and I. It's like, we have like an understanding with each other. We can rip on each other so much, and, like, no one ever gets offended. Both of us take a joke really well.

We've been roasting each other for the last 10 years.

Q. Business end of the tournament now. You were talking about how much you enjoyed coming up with the unexpected or flashy shot in a tight moment. What about your game, beating people at being solid is feeling good for you right now?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I'm sorry. I'm not sure I fully understand the question.

Q. You said you enjoyed the flashy shot in a tight moment. In terms of your regular game that you're using to beat people, what is working well for you on grass?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, the obvious thing is the serve. It was honestly really windy out there the first, like, two sets of the match.

Once the wind died down a bit, I found such a good rhythm with my serve. I was serving super-high percentage, hitting my spots really well, mixing up the spots really well.

I felt like it was going to take, like, a very special game from him to put me under pressure, break me. Serve rhythm felt great.

I mean, the obvious things, like my backhand is always on grass one of my most solid shots. I feel really confident it's going to get through the court fast. I don't think I'm going to miss it much.

The chip returns have been great for me. Been slicing my forehand really well, chipping the forehand really well, putting a lot of returns in play with that.

I think it's just the constant pressure of me serving really well, and then putting these chip returns in play. It's pretty annoying for people to deal with.

Q. I think it was after your last round when you said it was your team that kind of had to persuade you not to play in Eastbourne? Is that right?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Kind of. It was a little bit of both. Obviously they didn't love the idea of me going finals, finals, into Eastbourne, then playing.

I was pretty much going to ignore everyone and play. There's one injury that I picked up in Halle. I think it is better already, but if it's not, it's something that I could get better if I give it some time.

I felt it in the warm-up for my match in Eastbourne. It was like an adductor groin thing. I felt it. So I was just kind of honest with myself. I told my team that if I felt this, I'd pull because I could have played through it.

I could have played through it, but then it's not going to get better, then I'm going to carry this annoying little muscle strain into Wimbledon, or I can pull out and be 100%.

That's what it came down to. No one really wanted me to play, obviously.

Q. Was that an instinct you had to fight, to play through it? In past times, would you have been more inclined to play through it?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I'm not 100% sure. It's really tough. It's really tough for me. I felt really bad not playing just because the tournament already had a lot of withdrawals. I actually was planning on playing and pulled out at the warm-up. They had a lot of withdrawals.

Obviously I love that tournament. I had a lot of fans prior on that day say, like, Good luck, I came here for you, this is your tournament. I was getting a lot of love. It felt really bad to not play, so...

Yeah, in the end I had to do what I felt was best for me being 100% here.

Q. There's been a lot of discontent from doubles players regarding prize money and the draw. Doubles players think the ATP is essentially trying to kill doubles. What do you make of that?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I haven't, like, looked into it, paid attention to it too much because obviously it's been blowing up this week, like in the tournament. I'm kind of focused on other things.

But my thought on it is at the end of the day, this is a business, so if the tour doesn't feel -- if they feel like it's an expense to put a lot of prize money into doubles and pay for the hotels and the resources that are being used, and they don't feel like they're seeing a return on that, then it kind of is what it is.

At the end of the day it is a business, so... I don't know the true numbers of if doubles is profitable for the tour or not. I feel like there is a lot of prize money in the doubles.

I don't know what to say. I don't know what the right decision in the end is.

Q. Considering the ATP is a business, do you think it should also help the grass-roots? Should it just be focused on helping to grow tennis in general or should it be focused on numbers?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I'm not sure. I feel like they've tried with doubles for quite a while. Yeah, I think it's a fair argument to say the tradition, there's always been doubles, so-and-so.

Yeah, I mean, friends, I get along well with a lot of the doubles players as well. I'm not trying to take shots at them.

I do think that's up to the ATP to decide. I don't know the numbers. I don't know how profitable or not profitable it is. But I think if I was in their shoes, at the end of the day I would understand the fact that it's a business.

Q. You said earlier about you and Frances. When you're ripping him, what do you rip him about, and what does he rip you about?

TAYLOR FRITZ: We got lots of things.

He was making fun of me the other day for flossing. That is like a word we use when you win your match and you're staying on-site way too long afterwards. I actually wasn't. I was being very time-efficient.

I just pressed for an hour, physio for an hour, ice baths. Of course I'm on-site three hours after my match. He was making fun of me for that. I'll make fun of him for being late all the time.

What else? Whenever he does something stupid, any time either one of us do something stupid, we just make fun of each other.

Q. Where does the term 'flossing' come from?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I don't know where that started. It's a common thing we say. When you're spending too much time on-site after a win because you're just happy you won, kind of walking around, just flossing.

Q. 'Flossing' like flossing your teeth?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I don't know how that started. We've said that for a long time.