Taylor Fritz may have gained safe and comfortable passage into the next round of Indian Wells, but his post-match press conference actually concerned Carlos Alcaraz.
After all, the Spaniard was once again asked to discuss his issues with a key rule in tennis, with his answer spilling over into the American’s chat with reporters.
Whilst Carlos Alcaraz did not hold back in his assessment, Taylor Fritz was far more measured, actually admitting he does not have that much of an issue with the shot clock.
Taylor Fritz reacts to Carlos Alcaraz’s issue with the shot clock
Fritz began by simply stating: “I don’t have that much of an issue with it.”
He then went on to explain why: “I think sometimes, you know, we can be a bit smarter with it if, like, if someone plays a long point and they finish the point at the net on the opposite corner, and we are playing somewhere where it’s humid and you kind of, like, you need to towel off your hands in between points, then, okay, maybe you give the person an extra five seconds. And that’s where the issue kind of comes in, because it just automatically starts after the point.”
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However, Fritz did admit that he had suffered from this rule in the past, adding: “I had issues in the past when the umpires were the ones that were starting it, because I felt like some umpires would start it faster than others, so I always had an issue with specifically Fergus starting the clock super fast. And I’d never got called for time violations and no one ever got called for time violations against me, but then there was probably ten in total in my matches when he was in the chair, and then it started just being automatic, like when the point ends, it just starts. It’s not really up to the umpire.
“Like I said, I think there can be some, you know, room to play around with it in certain situations, like if someone finished the point on the far side of the court at net, they need to go to the towel, there’s just not enough time sometimes.”
Alcaraz, meanwhile, has admitted that he’s not even bothered to discuss the rule with the ATP, suggesting it would be a ‘waste of time’ to do so.
Why is Carlos Alcaraz so annoyed with the shot clock?
Alcaraz argued the shot clock was a ‘bad’ rule back in 2024 when it was first being introduced.
It’s clear to see that his views on this subject have not changed over the years.
In fact, it could be argued that they have actually intensified, with his frustrations boiling over during this recent Qatar Open match against Karen Khachanov.
There, after being penalised by the shot clock, he launched into a tirade at the umpire, slamming her and the ATP’s rules. His frustration continued from that game into the changeover, where he rambled to himself and anyone who would listen, in an expletive-filled rant.
Alcaraz is likely not alone in his distaste for the shot clock, but his profile makes his anger the most well-documented.
