Fritz Explains Controversial Decision To Play Injured During ATP Finals Exhibition

| by Evita Mueller

Taylor Fritz was booed the last time he stood on a tennis court, and he explained the whole ATP Finals situation recently.

Taylor Fritz officially debuted at the ATP Finals in Turin last year when he found himself among the Top 8 players that year. He didn't do the same thing this year but found himself in Turin as an alternate.

The American even got a chance to play at the event, though it was an exhibition match. Stefanos Tsisipas withdrew after only three games against Holger Rune, which had the organizers panicking because the crowd was not happy.

They quickly got the alternates Hurkacz and Fritz to play a set of tennis instead, though that didn't go too well either because Fritz still dealt with injuries, and couldn't give his best.

He explained how it looked from his point of view in a recent Twitch stream because many weren't happy with how it all unfolded.

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First off, no one in the Top 8 was injured going into the event. So being the second alternate, I do not think there is any chance I'm going to play. But I did feel like I had recovered enough from my injury that if I actually got to play, I could have gave it my all, and if I re-injure myself or injure myself, I'm fine with it because it's ATP Finals match, and I'm not going to give up that opportunity.

During the stream, the American also explained how long it takes him to get ready before the match, and since he got a ten-minute notice, it contributed to the fact that he was not ready to play.

So Stef pulls out mid-match, I'm not ready to play because I'm second alternate. So I have to go out on a ten-minute notice when I'm jet-lagged and not even close to being ready to play, so I go out and play, and I could have pushed myself a lot harder, but I could also re-injure myself, so why would I potentially injure myself over a one-set exhibition.

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