THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2026

Taylor Fritz

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/P. Kypson

6-2, 6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Taylor, nice win this afternoon. If you could talk us through the match.

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, it was super windy in the beginning. I feel like a little nervy in the beginning because it's sometimes tough to trust my shots when it's so windy.

I settled into the match well, did a good job returning his serve. I thought I served really well most of the match, outside of just one game.

Yeah, in the end it was just a clean match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How good does it feel to get it done in three?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, it feels great, especially when you're first on. I feel like I have a good amount of time the rest of the day. Especially just with the feeling of how that third set was going, you play these sets where you feel like you're in control, you're the one with the break chances. It's looking good, then you don't get your chances, which was happening. I just wasn't really converting on the break points. I had a lot of deuces and 30-Alls where I was making bad errors and not breaking.

You get those sets sometimes where they just kind of steal it from you in a breaker, they get one break point. I was a little worried that's where it was headed. We go to a fourth, it can kind of turn into a battle.

I was happy to secure that break at the end.

Q. Do you have a routine when you go through like a completely heartbreaking match, you want to quit the sport, what you do to get back? How do you put it behind you?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I never had losses where I feel like I want to quit. That's definitely not where my mind goes to.

But I think it will probably be, like, just reset, have a cheat meal, maybe take a day or two off, then kind of just feel ready and motivated to get back to work.

I kind of feel like being lazy and, like, unhealthy for a day or two after a loss can kind of make me feel really motivated again to just go back out, train, get better, work on what I need to work on.

I always have exactly in my head what went wrong in the match, maybe why I lost, things to work on. I just try to do what I can do to then feel ready to just get back to work.

Q. You said a 'cheap meal'?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Like a 'cheat meal', unhealthy.

Q. 'Cheat meal'?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah. I mean, yeah, after like a tough loss, it's pretty much just like bad habits: video games, bad sleep, unhealthy food. A day or two of that, I feel like such a loser, I feel very motivated just to get back to work.

Q. A question about Jenson Brooksby. You played him three times last year. He's had an interesting sort of career, ups and downs. What are your thoughts on his game and how that might present some problems for Sinner?

TAYLOR FRITZ: He's a very, like, unorthodox player obviously. I mean, I'm thinking about all the times we played last year. Honestly, the one in Tokyo, I was really impressed with just, like, his level. I felt like he was doing an unbelievable job of handling my pace. I was striking the ball really well, which is something that he's going to see against Sinner, just like big ball striking.

I think if he handles it the way he was dealing with what I was doing in Tokyo, then I think from the ground it will actually be interesting. We'll have to see. I don't know how much the grass is helping his serve, but I think that's going to be where the match is won or lost.

Jannik has improved his serve so much over the last couple years. He's a very, very good server. Now it's going to be tough to break him.

I think he's going to be able to get a lot more returns in play.

Q. When he is sending it back with pace, do you redirect?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I mean, his backhand is always very solid. What I can think of is I was hitting a very big forehand to his forehand, and he was just flattening it back, like crushing it.

Yeah, I remember in that match saying, Maybe I don't want this forehand-forehand rally, which was not how it went in the previous matchup.

I think he can flatten it out. We'll see if he's doing that.

Q. What is your cheat meal of choice? Your thoughts on either of your next opponents?

TAYLOR FRITZ: Yeah, I mean, I have lots of different cheat meals. It's kind of like what I'm in the mood for, in general, just a lot of chain fast food restaurants we have in the States that I start missing when I'm away.

Yeah, I mean, I've played both of these guys a good bit. I think the thing that's the same is both of them are very good servers. Yeah, I don't know, I think how I play those matchups from the baseline is quite different depending on who it is.

In the end, serve-return will always be the keys.

Q. I know you're obviously doing this for yourself, but I wonder how much are you motivated by the fact it's so long since we've had an American winning a singles slam?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I've said it forever, like, I don't know if it's like motivating. I'd like to be the one to do it. I think all of the American guys want to be the one to do it, so...

Yeah, I don't know. In the end it's my goal in my career. I've obviously been to one final. When my body allows it and I'm feeling good, I still have a couple more years to hopefully contend.

Q. Style question. With the tear-away pants, do you have to practice that?

TAYLOR FRITZ: No. It's actually a lot easier to do it. I just know when I do it, it's going to be a whole thing. People are going to, like, react to it, which I don't really want.

I took it off slowly in the first round. I kind of actually made a mess of it. It's actually just a lot easier to just rip 'em off. I saw a video of Frances doing it. I was just trying to copy him today.

Q. Are the men playing catch-up style-wise to the women?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I would say so. I think the women have done more with the, like, walk-out outfits, making it into a bit of a production. I mean, it's cool. It's fun.

I think we'll see if people do more moving forward.

Q. I don't think you've played him, but have you practiced with Michael Zheng down in Florida?

TAYLOR FRITZ: No.

Q. You had this plan this spring of taking time off and getting your body healthy for this time of the year. Do you feel like you made good decisions? Are there any that you'd like to have back?

TAYLOR FRITZ: If you ask me, I mean, I'm super stubborn. I still think I could have played the clay court season and kept rehabbing it on the road.

I guess I probably wouldn't be at the point I'm at now. That was my plan going into the year was - because it was really, really bad after World Tour Finals last year, the scans. I just had like a hole in my tendon essentially.

Even though I was playing from Australia to Miami, I was in a good amount of pain after Miami, I felt like -- not I felt like, but the scans I got after that did show that I was regrowing the tendon. That's what people would tell you with tendinitis, tendinopathy, pain is not always telling you the full story. It was pissed off.

As I was playing, doing the rehab while I was playing, I was still slowly regrowing the tendon and it was working.

It does seem like I needed that time off to fully get over the hill. Still feels it from time to time, but more so once I've actually cooled down, it maybe stiffens up.

It's still a work in progress. It feels great to be able to play three-set matches, four-set matches, I mean, do what I did in Stuttgart and Halle, nine matches in 11 days, most of them three sets, and not ever be thinking about my knee in pain on the court. That's a huge step forward.

Q. Is the grass harder on it or easier?

TAYLOR FRITZ: I thought the grass was going to be harder on it. It's held up so well, I'm waiting to see how it's going to feel like on hard court when I'm kind of stomping and sliding on it.

Grass court season last year was kind of where I feel like it became more of an issue for me, then it kind of got just worse from there. I did think maybe grass would be really tough on it.

Now it's been feeling so good the last couple weeks, I'm not so sure.