Taylor Fritz will contest his first Wimbledon quarter-final, and his opponent will be Rafael Nadal and the American player is quite excited about it.
Fritz and Nadal have played one match this year already, and it happened in the Indian Wells final. Nadal was playing with a cracked rib and Fritz with an injured ankle and the American was able to overcome that in an inspiring effort to beat Nadal in two sets.
Now, he will try to do it again at Wimbledon, with the conditions likely suiting him more, as Nadal hasn't enjoyed a lot of success on the grass courts during his career. Fritz is obviously looking forward to the match.
"I’ve kind of been in these moments before, like, Indian Wells semi-final, Indian Wells final. I’d say probably it feels about the same as like a Slam quarter-final. Obviously [Wimbledon is] three-out-of-five sets."
"I think it makes the occasion bigger if I am playing Nadal. But I try to just approach it like how I did last time, treat it like any other match because I’ve been playing well. It’s about kind of just replicating the way I’ve been playing and trusting that that will be enough."
This match comes after some initial struggles on grass that saw Fritz exit early in several events. Speaking to the media, Fritz actually described it as a low point, and it felt like that until he turned it around in Eastbourne.
Fritz won his maiden trophy there, and returning was a good decision for him as he won a trophy again.
"It’s so interesting because three weeks ago, it was a low point for me. I kept telling myself that I’ll find my tennis. I had to just kind of keep being positive. I was injured, coming back from injury, not playing great."
"I kind of just remained positive, stuck to, like, the process of working really hard, doing the right things. The week of Eastbourne things kind of started clicking for me."
"Now it is crazy to go from where I was at maybe mentally after Queen’s, like feeling injured, I’ve just lost like three matches in a row, to now I’m in my first Slam quarter-final."
To get into the semifinal, Fritz will have to beat Nadal. It seems simple enough, and Fritz has already done it before, but this is a Grand Slam, and Nadal has been historic at events like these.
"I know I’m going to have to bring a certain level. Just knowing that I will have to play a certain level, I know that I will play better. It’s going to be a lot different match obviously."
"Indian Wells was kind of crazy with both of us being extremely beaten up before the final. This time I think getting healthier versions of both of us, we’ll see."
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