Taylor Fritz put up an almighty fight last night, but in the end, could not convert when given the chance against Ben Shelton in the Dallas Open final.
As such, he lost to his compatriot in a gruelling three-set encounter, with three championship points squandered.
It’s a crushing way to lose a tennis match, but one that proves just how close the 28-year-old was to the title despite all the fitness ailments he is battling with.
And, as analytical and driven as ever, Taylor Fritz believes that there were things he could have sharpened up to ensure he didn’t get dragged into a dogfight.
Taylor Fritz says what he could have done better vs Ben Shelton in the Dallas Open final
Sitting down at his post-final press conference, he would disclose these shortcomings to reporters, who congratulated him on a strong tournament in the face of such adversity.
He began by insisting: “Return wise, no. But serving-wise, I could have done better.”
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Fritz then explained why: “I think for a set and a half, I was playing great and serving great, and then I don’t know why, but the serve rhythm was just lost a little bit.
“I was not hitting my spots as good, my first serve percentage was nowhere near as good as it has been all week, and it’s tough to start having to grind out these points behind the serve when I have not had to do that all week long. It is a lot of added pressure.
“He did a great job playing defence and making me hit a ton of balls to win the points on my serve. He did a really good job of just making a lot of balls when he was returning, and I was not getting free points on my serve.
“The breaks could have been avoided if I served a little bit better.”
Ben Shelton takes a big step towards challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
Whilst tennis players are always striving to improve, the main way to measure any progress is through success.
Fortunately for Ben Shelton, he seems to enjoy plenty of it, with this latest title a justification for his hard work over so many months.
Before the tournament, Shelton revealed he’d been working on one shot, which unsurprisingly has unsettled Jannik Sinner in the past.
It seems that the American is finding a good balance between continuing to achieve success while also fine-tuning and tweaking his game.
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He is still far from Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but titles like these will only fuel his ambition and help to bridge the gap between him and the world’s top two players.
