"It definitely didn’t feel any different on the court, but it’s a massive honour"

Taylor Fritz reckons he didn't feel 'any different' on the court after breaking into the top 5 of the ATP rankings on the week starting Monday (February 27).

In his first match as a top-5 player, the 25-year-old recovered from a set down to beat compatriot John Isner in his Mexican Open opener in Acapulco on Monday night.

In an all-American first-round matchup at the ATP 500 tournament, Isner drew first blood, taking the first set 6-3. However, Fritz - who had lost three of his five previous meetings with his older compatriot - stormed back, dropping only seven games to book his place in the second round.

Expand Tweet

The last time Fritz beat Isner was at 2021 Atlanta when he was not even in the top 20. Reflecting on his latest win over the 37-year-old Isner, an elated Fritz said in his on-court interview:

“I’m extremely happy. When the draw comes out, he’s obviously not who you want to see in the first round — it’s so much of a 50/50 match that can go either way, and I was very fortunate. I won a lot of the important points today.”

Fritz is the first American male to reach the top five since Andy Roddick in 2009.

Expand Tweet

Fritz said that he had hoped to accomplish the same earlier but knows that it's an incredible 'honour'. He continued:

"It definitely didn’t feel any different on the court, but it’s a massive honour. When you put things in perspective and kind of look back, if I thought I’d be here when I was younger, it’s great. I kind of want to stop thinking about it, though, because I want to focus on the tournament and I’m hearing so much about it."

Fritz, who is now 12-3 on the season, will next take on Denis Shapovalov for a place in the quarterfinals. The American is 2-5 against Shapovalov, having lost the pair's first three meetings.

Taylor Fritz's 2023 season so far

Taylor Fritz made a good start to his 2023 campaign, winning four of his five matches as Team USA won the inaugural United Cup Down Under.

The American, though, endured an early loss at the Australian Open, going down to Alexei Popyrin in the second round. At his next stop in Dallas, Fritz lost to eventual winner Yibing Wu in the semifinals before winning his first title of the season (fifth overall) at Delray Beach.

Taylor Fritz has a 8-4 record in Acapulco, reaching the final in 2020, where he lost against Rafael Nadal.