"How can I be a top player if I can't produce results during clay season?"- Taylor Fritz on breaking typical US mindset of indifference to clay

Taylor Fritz became the first American to reach the quarterfinal stage of all the clay court Masters after entering the last eight at the 2024 Italian Open. He emphasized the importance of performing well on clay and admitted that he needs to play well on clay courts to become a top player.

In 2022 and 2023, Fritz advanced to the quarterfinal stage at the Monte Carlo Masters.

A couple of weeks ago, Fritz advanced to the quarterfinal stage at the Madrid Open for the first time in his career. He even reached the semifinal and was ousted by Andrey Rublev from the final four.

On May 14, the American defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-7(11), 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinal for the first time at the Italian Open. After the win, Fritz wrote 'Claylor' on the camera to signify his emphatic run of form on clay.

The 26-year-old became the first American to reach the quarterfinal stage at all the clay court Masters 1000.

According to Fritz, American tennis players historically have had a mindset of not giving importance to the clay court season. During his post-match press conference, he said:

"I've kind of committed to this clay court swing, playing all the events, for a long time. I think the generation before me, a lot of the Americans wouldn't want to play the whole swing or they skip Monte-Carlo, whatever."

He mentioned that the clay court season is an important part of his schedule and to be a top player, he wants to perform well on clay.

"How can I ever be a top player that I want to be if I can't produce some results during the clay season?.. I always thought, like, if I want to be a top-10 player, I need to be putting results in on clay," Fritz said.

---

Taylor Fritz feels it will be awkward to return to clay for the Olympic Games following the grass-court season

Taylor Fritz at the Italian Open.

After the French Open, the tennis season will move on to grass courts. However, in an unusual occurrence, the clay courts will make a comeback later in July 2024 as the Olympic Games will be held on the clay courts in Paris.

Taylor Fritz was asked about the shift back to clay and he admitted that it would be weird.

"It's a little awkward that we're going to go back to clay after grass obviously. I'm feel good on clay right now. It would work great for me if we were just going to continue on and play," said Fritz.

Currently, Taylor Fritz is enjoying an exceptional run of form on clay. In his first-ever Italian Open quarterfinal, he will face Alexander Zverev on Wednesday, May 15.