Tennis star Taylor Fritz talks 'awesome' Olympics, self-imposed pressure, what may make sport 'more exciting'
Fresh off medaling in Paris, Taylor Fritz has bigger goals in mind.
Fritz represented the United States in the Olympics earlier this month, and while it did not go exactly how he hoped, it was still an unforgettable experience to represent the Stars and Stripes.
"It was awesome. I always love playing for the U.S. I always feel like I play well when I’m playing for the U.S. It being my first Olympics, I’m happy at the very least I was able to bring back a medal," Fritz told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. He and fellow American Tommy Paul earned a bronze in the men's doubles.
It is quite a busy tennis calendar, as Fritz now gears up for the U.S. Open. The Olympics were essentially a fifth grand slam this year, and Fritz, a partner with Eight Sleep, is prioritizing his sleep in order to maximize his potential.
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"I’m very big in aligning with brands that I personally use and feel they can help me. When it comes to sleep, I think sleep is one of, if not, the most important things when it comes to performing well as an athlete," Fritz said. "Even in general, if you’re not an athlete, it’s so important. Optimizing sleep, seeing all the data behind sleeping, it’s been huge for me, and I just think it makes a lot of sense as an athlete to partner with them."
Fritz was able to bring an Eight Sleep cooling pod to Paris to combat the scorching heat while he was trying to get some shuteye overseas. "Sleeping conditions there weren’t ideal," he said.
However, despite the wrinkle in the calendar and imperfect living situation, Fritz was not missing the Games.
"I didn’t go to the last one, and the next one, I’ll be 30 years old. So I was really set on going to this one. In terms of how the schedule works out… it’s not ideal in the tennis calendar, but it is one of those things, I really wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to go this year," he said.
Fritz has yet to get over the hump despite being ranked as high as No. 5 in the world. He has yet to make a semifinal in a grand slam.
It has been quite a while since the face of tennis was an American, but Fritz does not feel the pressure to become that for his country's sake - it is simply just a title he wants to hold.
"We all want to do it. But it’s more for ourselves. I want to do it for me…" he said. "That’s what I want - I want to win a slam, I want to be the guy, but that’s the pressure I’m putting on myself to do that."
Considering, as Fritz said, "everyone loses except one person" every tournament, it is important to stay level-headed in an individual sport. However, Fritz has a decent idea of what constitutes success.
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"I guess, to take away positives, I feel like I need to do good or at least better than my seeding… There’s always, a lot of times, positives to take out. But typically, I go pretty deep into tournaments, and year-end ranking needs to be higher than it was the year prior, otherwise I’m pretty disappointed."
Now, it is U.S. Open time. It is the final slam of the year and Fritz's last chance to seriously put himself on the map. At the same time, though, Fritz wants to see a reasonable share of players fighting for slams, not the same "one, two, three people like it has been for a long time."
"I think it’s more fun that way if it’s not just one person winning everything all the time. I think it’s more exciting for the fans if you’re going to a big tournament, and you have eight different guys that might take the title," Fritz said. "I think it’s more exciting, and craziness can happen."
However, Fritz wants to etch his name into the history books and take home a victory in Queens next month.
"I’m here a week early, so I’m excited to get out there and put in a good training week and dial everything in. I have that confidence and am ready to go," he said. "I just have to take it one match at a time, not look too far ahead, and once I get myself into that quarterfinal position like I have a couple times already, it’s just gonna take that one match I play well.
"Just play well, and once I get over that hump, I think for me, those things always become a lot easier to repeat once I’ve done it once or twice. So I just have to keep putting myself in the situation, keep playing good matches when I get to the quarterfinals, but also just take it one at a time.
"And sleep. That's the most important thing."
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