The Miami Open could be a significant stage in Taylor Fritz’s season after the American admitted that how he fares at the Masters event will determine his plans for the clay swing.
Fritz, who is currently ranked seventh in the world, has been playing on the Tour whilst trying to manage tendonitis in his knee. A condition where there is inflammation or irritation around the tendon. In recent weeks, the American stated that he is still able to play on the Tour whilst dealing with the issue without making it worse. However, a recent setback in Indian Wells has led him to reconsider his plans.
“I’m still managing my knee. Some days it’s better than others, and I don’t know why exactly,” tennis.com quoted Fritz as saying on Monday in Miami.
“In Dallas, for example, it felt amazing and it didn’t bother me at all the whole tournament. I felt like I was moving great. And then, in the lead-in to Indian Wells, it wasn’t. It felt like I almost regressed a little bit. The same thing happened in Australia, as well.”
The past three months have been mixed for Fritz when it comes to his results. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before losing to Lorenzo Musetti and was runner-up in Dallas to Ben Shelton. However, in his two most recent tournaments, he has failed to record back-to-back wins. Losing his second match played at both Delray Beach and Indian Wells. His win-loss record for the season currently stands at 9-4 (excluding the United Cup).
Fritz is hoping to get his momentum back in Miami, where he was a semi-finalist 12 months ago in what was his best-ever result at the event. However, if he feels more discomfort in his knee, he may decide to take a brief break from the sport and reduce his commitments for the upcoming clay swing.
“This is kind of the cut-off,” he states. “We said, after Miami if we’re not seeing big improvements, it might be time to… just, like, slow down a bit on the playing and get it healed 100 percent.
“Because if there was a portion of the season that I think I’d be more OK missing, it would be the clay-court season, like I did last year.
“I think this week is going to be very telling for it. But, overall, it’s not bad.”
As for where his tennis is currently at, Fritz believes his serve has improved since the end of last year. Telling reporters he is ‘probably serving the best he ever has in his career.’
“I just need to make sure my body is healthy,” he commented.
“When it feels 100 percent then I also feel like I can move really well. I think that’s something I maybe didn’t feel like I was doing great at Indian Wells.”
Fritz, who has a first round bye, will start his Miami Open bid against either Denis Shapovalov or Botic van de Zandschulp.
