Taylor Fritz is one of tennis’ most insightful individuals, providing incredible consistency on the court and remarkable analysis off it.
It’s clear that he has a great passion for the sport, and he relishes the opportunity to delve into the finer points of the game to gain that extra edge.
However, identifying a weakness and solving it are two completely different things, as the American has attested to in his latest press conference.
He told reporters that whilst he is well aware of one key change he needs to make, having been pointed out by experts and pundits alike, it is lazy of them to assume it will be a quick fix.
Taylor Fritz admits it’s not easy to make key change to his game
The question that provoked such a response read: “You have such a great serve and great game off the ground, but a lot of experts and pundits talk about how you being more willing to come forward will take you to the next level. Do you agree with them? How do you see that part of your game?”
This provoked a lengthy response from Taylor Fritz, who admitted: “This is a thing I can ramble on about for a really long time.”
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He explained how there are three different times when he feels there’s an opportunity to come into the net, and not every player can execute them all.
Fritz then insisted that, whilst he wants to come into the net more often, it needs to be at the right time, and that comes from the approach shot rather than the volley itself.
The 28-year-old claimed: “I agree that finishing more points at net will help me. But I also think it’s more about me being able to generate more pace off of some of these, like, dead balls, which then allows me to come in behind it.
“I think sometimes the approaches I’m hitting when I don’t have the, I guess, pace to work off of, it’s just not good enough against some of the guys that are so fast and pass so well.
“I don’t think I’m putting them in a tough enough position to where I’m probably not going to get passed or at least they’re going to hit a good enough pass, where if I don’t hit the perfect volley, they’ll pass me on the next ball.
“It’s an easy thing to say, if he comes to net, he’ll win more. I think that’s kind of like a super bailout, no-effort response. Just things that, like, a commentator can say, but I think there’s a lot of complexities to it.
“I think for me, I need to get in more, but it’s more about getting better at the shots beforehand so when I do get in, it’s an easier volley to put away.”
Taylor Fritz handed a golden opportunity at the Miami Open
Fritz also spoke about Seb Korda’s recent win over Carlos Alcaraz, which could actually have huge repercussions for the 2024 US Open finals.
After all, it has blown his half of the Miami Open draw wide open, leaving him as the only player ranked inside the top 20.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
Naturally, stars like Korda, Arthur Fils and Tommy Paul will pose a threat, as will his next opponent, Jiri Lehecka.
However, given how this tournament has transpired, he will arguably never get a better opportunity to reach the final in Miami and give himself a shot at the title.
