Taylor Fritz survived another five set scare at Wimbledon as he continued his progress through the tournament.
Fritz was predicted to be one of the Wimbledon favourites coming into this year’s tournament after winning two grass court titles this year.
However, the American nearly fell at the first hurdle before Fritz fought back to beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his first round match.
While he was able to come through his opening match, some of his rivals did not and Fritz’s draw opened up to give him a good opportunity of reaching new ground at Wimbledon.
That opportunity appeared to be in some jeopardy against Gabriel Diallo, in a match in which Fritz has now admitted he was left surprised.
Taylor Fritz admits being surprised during his match against Gabriel Diallo
Fritz came through in five sets once again, beating Diallo 3-6 6-3 7-6(0) 4-6 6-3, in a tightly contested match on Court No.1 at Wimbledon.
With many top seeds already out of Wimbledon this year, eyebrows were raised when the world number five lost that first set to Diallo.
But, Fritz was able to regroup and beat the young Canadian, admitting in his post-match press conference that the conditions were a lot more windy than he originally expected them to be.
“I thought I played really well,” said Fritz. “It was way more windy than I expected it to be when I came out. When I warmed up earlier it was not windy at all, so it took some adjusting to get used to.
“In the beginning I felt like on the one side with the wind at my back I felt like I could not really go after the ball. I felt like it was flying on me. I could not really control it.
“So I definitely felt that in the beginning of the match, the first set, he handled the conditions a lot better and was playing much better. I was struggling with the wind.
“I don’t think it was the best, a little sloppy, some mistakes in the first set. But after that I thought I played really well. Second set, found a break. Third set, I believe he served 85% first serves and I was still able to win the set so I don’t know what more I can really ask for.
“Fourth set I gave myself lots of chances to find a break, I wasn’t able to do it. I felt the game he broke me he played a very good game and there was not much I could do.
“And he played a very solid fifth set. I am really happy with my level. He is a very good player, he played well, and I think that’s an absolutely brutal second round match to face.”
Taylor Fritz has spent a lot of time on the match court
After playing two gruelling five set matches at Wimbledon, Fritz has already spent nearly seven hours on the match court before the third round.
Fritz has also been on court every day, with his first round match against Mpetshi Perricard being completed over two days after it was controversially called off due to the Wimbledon curfew.
The US Open finalist also played a lot in the week before Wimbledon this year, with Fritz winning the Eastbourne title for a fourth time.
In his on-court interview after beating Diallo, Fritz admitted that he was pleased to have a day off ahead of his third round match.
“Tomorrow is going to be a very light hit,” said Fritz. “I think I’ve played a lot of tennis. I’m coming from four matches in a row in Eastbourne, one day off, a match over two days here and into this, so I’m very due a very relaxing day.
“That’s an incredibly hard match. The fourth set – I don’t think there’s much that I did wrong at all and I kind of felt like that’s the way the match was going: I was going to have to play near perfect when I got my opportunities. I’m happy to get through that.”
Fritz may also be pleased that his upcoming opponent has not actually finished their second round match, with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Botic van de Zandschulp forced to postpone completing their match due to darkness.
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