Taylor Fritz booked his place in the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday after beating US compatriot Patrick Kypson.
Fritz, a former semifinalist at the Championships, defeated Kypson fairly comfortably, 6-2, 6-2, 7-5.
The American claimed his second straight-sets win of the tournament so far, having battled past qualifier Dusan Lajovic in round one, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
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Now 28 years of age, Fritz has been managing knee tendonitis since the start of the season and missed the majority of the clay swing to focus on recovery.
Following the second-round triumph, the world number seven issued a positive fitness update.
Taylor Fritz looks back on his recovery during the clay swing
Asked in his post-match press conference if he felt he made a good decision to skip all of the clay-court Masters 1000 events, Fritz replied: “I mean, I’m super stubborn. I still think I could have played the clay-court season and kept rehabbing it on the road.
“I guess I probably wouldn’t be at the point I’m at now. That was my plan going into the year was – because it was really, really bad after World Tour Finals last year, the scans. I just had like a hole in my tendon essentially.
“Even though I was playing from Australia to Miami, I was in a good amount of pain after Miami, I felt like — not I felt like, but the scans I got after that did show that I was regrowing the tendon. That’s what people would tell you with tendinitis, tendinopathy, pain is not always telling you the full story. It was p—- off.
“As I was playing, doing the rehab while I was playing, I was still slowly regrowing the tendon and it was working.
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“It does seem like I needed that time off to fully get over the hill. Still feels it from time to time, but more so once I’ve actually cooled down, it maybe stiffens up.
“It’s still a work in progress. It feels great to be able to play three-set matches, four-set matches, I mean, do what I did in Stuttgart and Halle, nine matches in 11 days, most of them three sets, and not ever be thinking about my knee in pain on the court. That’s a huge step forward.”
Taylor Fritz addresses American Grand Slam drought in men’s singles
Andy Roddick is still the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title, having done so at the 2003 US Open.
Fritz now has a great opportunity to end the drought though, with a favourable draw up to the final.
“I’d like to be the one to do it,” said Fritz. “I think all of the American guys want to be the one to do it.
“In the end, it’s my goal in my career. I’ve obviously been to one final. When my body allows it, and I’m feeling good, I still have a couple more years to hopefully contend.”
Fritz’s closest attempt at a Grand Slam came at the 2024 US Open, where he made the final before losing to Jannik Sinner.
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