Taylor Fritz booked his place in the third round of the Australian Open after a fairly comfortable win over Vit Kopriva.
The American star overcame Kopriva in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6, to advance, with a clash against Stan Wawrinka up next.
Fritz has been dealing with a knee injury during the Australian swing and revealed at the United Cup that he had ‘pretty serious tendonitis’.
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It has not been too much of a hindrance for him so far, with the 28-year-old having dropped just one set in his opening two matches.
Following his match with Kopriva, Fritz delivered a seemingly positive update on the injury.
Taylor Fritz says he is ‘really happy’ with his knee right now
In his post-match press conference, the US number one said: “I mean, for me the knee, you know, I’m probably getting a bit overconfident with how it feels because I’m on, obviously, anti-inflammatories and stuff, so it’s obviously masking the pain.
“I’d say my knee has been feeling really good the last couple of days. But obviously if I get… It’s masking the pain.
“But I still know it is well-improved from where it was at because before, even on all the anti-inflammatories, it was still like just killing me.
“So it’s a lot better. I’m really happy. Really, really happy with where it’s at right now. And it’s giving me a lot of hope that I can continue to do my rehab while still playing and it can keep getting better.
“So it’s been really, really promising, I’d say just the last two weeks with how it’s been feeling, because how it felt the first week, two weeks I was in Australia, I was thinking, you know, I’m probably going to have to shut it down for a month or two.”
Taylor Fritz comments on American success at the Australian Open
There is a strong American presence in the men’s draw at the Australian Open, with seven US stars reaching the third round.
“We’re all focused in on the tournament,” said Fritz. “It’s like we’re all on different schedules. I feel like I’ve barely seen Tommy [Paul] this week, and Frances [Tiafoe].
“But they are playing on the days that I’m not playing. So, like, the days that we’re off, I feel like we come into the site real quick, practice, leave. Yeah, I just haven’t been catching them.
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“But happy to see all the success the guys are having, especially some of the guys that are playing well, pulling off some upsets.
“I’m happy for Ethan [Quinn]. He doesn’t have to worry about the bill that he paid the other night. Maybe that gave him a little extra motivation, too, this week.”
Ethan Quinn, aged 21, has knocked out 23rd seed Tallon Griekspoor and former world number six Hubert Hurkacz so far at the Australian Open.
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