A few days ago, Tyler Fritz was interviewed about the significant improvement in American tennis.
"We have a lot of talented players under the age of 25, we are constantly improving and I am sure he will be good in the future," the 11th ranked player stated.
At that point in time, Fritz's words made a lot of sense - in the fourth round of the Wimbledon tournament there were four American players, all indeed talented and young under 25 - but at the end of the fourth round there was only one left: Fritz himself.
Today he will meet Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, where he will try to strengthen his position as the top American in the bunch.
Fritz did not imagine that he would put the official stamp in London.
When the current grass season opened, he defined his condition in one casual word, "OK," and said he was suffering from several injuries and only wanted to return to playing fitness.
It took some time and included losses in the first rounds of small tournaments in the Netherlands and Queens, but Fritz was able to get back into shape and move on from there to the best fit of his life.
Fritz is celebrating.
The face of American tennis, Photo: Reuters
At the end of June he won the Eastbourne tournament which serves as preparation for Wimbledon, and in the first week at Wimbledon he defeated all his opponents, without losing a battle on the way to the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career.
"I am very excited to be in this class," Fritz tweeted after a win over Australian Jason Kubler.
"And as an American, I'm glad it happened on July 4."
With well-groomed hair, prominent cheekbones and a white smile, 24-year-old Fritz is the perfect American poster boy.
He is 1.96 m tall, the son of two tennis parents, a native of California who has already gotten married, become a father, divorced and dated the network star and model Morgan Riddle.
Fritz stars quite a bit in the gossip columns and will soon star in the Netflix series that follows the tennis players of the round, but this year he starred mainly in the sports pages.
A remarkable performance from Taylor Fritz helps him take down Alastair Gray: 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-3 to reach the third round at #Wimbledon for the second year in a row.
pic.twitter.com/1ji1SlLAjf
- TENNISWRLD 🎾 (@TennisWRLD) June 30, 2022
The highlight came in March, when he was the first to beat Rafael Nadal and became the first American to win at Indian Wells since 2001. "The feeling after that win is why I play," Fritz said, "it feels like a dream."
When he recovered, the American declared that he was not satisfied with it and wanted more.
So today, again against Nadal, Fritz has a chance to make another personal history and advance to the semifinals for the first time.
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