Taylor Fritz after Wimbledon defeat against Nadal: "Could have cried after the match"
Taylor Fritz played a big match against Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon quarterfinals - but in the end, as so often, the tireless fighter from Manacor won. Fritz was correspondingly disappointed.
by Florian Goosmann from Wimbledon
last edit:
Jul 07, 2022, 11:35 am
Taylor Fritz threw everything in against Rafael Nadal, including himself at the end: When Nadal unpacked another stop at the end of the match tie break in the fifth set, Fritz threw himself at it. He caught him too, but Nadal laid the volley relaxed into the empty field. And shortly afterwards won the match: 3: 6, 7: 5, 3: 6, 7: 5 and 7: 6 (4), the result for the 22-time Grand Slam champ.
Fritz was of course disappointed: he had kept up well, leading 2-1 sets. And Nadal had meanwhile seemed as if he was about to give up because of his abdominal muscle problems. He also thought of it, Nadal explained later - Papa Sebastian had also sent a corresponding signal from the box.
But Nadal hates giving up, as he explained again, but of course his injury also played a role for Fritz. In the second sentence he had already thought about it, said Fritz, "I wasn't that aggressive anymore," he admitted. Nadal hadn't moved so well for a while, the speed of the serve had gone down. At the end of the second round, however, during the longer rallies, Nadal received balls "that many other players would not reach." From then on he understood that Nadal would probably have no problems in normal rallies.
Fritz doesn't think Nadal behaved unfairly
That Nadal might not have been injured that badly, everything played out a bit unfairly? No, not at all, says Fritz. "At first he might not have really realized how bad it was himself. That explains why he might not have been as explosive in his attack for a couple of games." After that he probably noticed that it would only affect him when he served. But serving the serve 10, 15 miles slower consistently? "He wouldn't do that for no reason."
Nevertheless, Fritz spoke of perhaps the most bitter defeat of his life. "When the match was over, I sat there and could have cried. I almost wanted to." He had never felt like this after a defeat. This defeat "hurt him more than any other before."
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