Taylor Fritz is the most representative US tennis in this moment of the men’s season. The defending champion of Indian Wells, was engaged in the 250 of Dallas, where he was defeat by the outisider Chinese Yibing Wu. From Monday, he will be number 7 in the ATP Ranking.
A great result that testifies to the goodness of his work in the last year. However, the 25-year-old did not start the season as he would have liked, stopping prematurely at the Australian Open, at the hands of Alexei Popyrin.
Even a small hip problem is keeping Fritz apprehensive, who wants to be ready for the Sunshine Double which will take place in March, between Florida and California. The pressure due to the points to be defended in the Indian Wells 1000 tournament does not scare him.
Taylor Fritz: “I don’t feel the pressure”
Fritz explained: “I took a few weeks off and then trained, even if not as much as I would have liked, given that I’ve had to live with an injury in recent weeks. It’s a small hip problem that has been bothering me since the start of the United Cup.
So the preparation hasn’t been ideal, but I’ve had the time and the possibility to relax for almost two weeks. It’s what I needed and now I feel ready to compete. I don’t particularly feel the pressure, every year in the race we all start from scratch.
So I don’t feel any particular pressure to win Indian Wells again. It’s definitely a tournament where I always play well and that means a lot to me, but today I’m already in the top ten of the competition, so I’m in line with the goals we’ve set ourselves for this season.” Finally, a few words about his friend Reilly Opelka, out for about eight months due to a hip injury that slowed down his progress and prevented him from participating in the Dallas tournament, where he was champion last year year.
The US said: “He’s awful. He started last season really strong and was playing great tennis. His injury is something that could happen to any of us at any moment. You never know when you might be out for eight months. It’s very sad to see him because he’s also one of my best friends, I hope to have him back soon and be able to spend time with him.”
