Taylor Fritz made some comments after the 2024 US Open that had some people wondering whether he was going through a rough patch after losing in his first major final, but he clarified them.
The 26-year-old American achieved his long-time dream of playing in a Grand Slam final at this year's US Open, where he reached the final. He had all his nation's hopes on his shoulders but also faced a very tough opponent in the final.
His opponent was Jannik Sinner, who is the World No. 1 player on the ATP Tour and played superb tennis. Sinner had already won a Grand Slam earlier this year, so he entered the match as the favorite.
Even so, the way Fritz talked about the final highlighted that he was facing his choices in the match-up. He thought he had played against Sinner well in the past and was certainly convinced that he could win the title.
The reality proved to be different because the Italian had beaten him comfortably in three sets. Fritz had a solid chance to push the match into four sets, but to the great disappointment of the crowd, it didn't happen.
After the match, he was disappointed, which is natural after such loss. Losing in straight sets is never the way a player wants to end their Grand Slam final experience, but he concluded that with time, he'd look at it as a proud achievement.
It would take time to process fully, but eventually, Fritz would get there. Sometime after the final, he had a chance to speak about his US Open experience on the podcast hosted by Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Jack Sock, in which he admitted that it was challenging.
He kind of joked that he went on a self-destructive streak, which included gaming and poor eating. That made headlines around the world, which had some fans wondering because the terms Fritz used confused a lot of people.
'Destructive' was the word that got many of his fans worried, but he later clarified on X (formerly Twitter) that it wasn't meant in a bad way and that it's something he usually does to 'decompress.'
He had some good food, which he doesn't eat often due to the nature of his profession, and he also gamed, which is his passion and has been for many years. It was nothing unusual for him and it was just his way of decompressing after an event.
"This makes it sound bad. The gaming and the eating was more celebratory, it’s pretty normal for me to decompress like this for 2/3 days after weeks on the road, always been part of my process and helps me feel ready to get back to work."
The American is already back in tennis for the Laver Cup, so he'll have time to distract himself from that loss.