"I never really got to settle in": Taylor Fritz compares his matches against Alcaraz and Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz ended Team World’s hopes at the Laver Cup after defeating Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5 in the match that would decide the champion. Despite the Europeans entering the final day trailing 4-8, they managed to secure the three wins they needed to claim their fifth title.

Fritz, ranked No. 7 and the highest-ranked player on his team, was the only top-10 player and performed well in his earlier matches. On Friday, he played doubles with Shelton, defeating Alcaraz and Zverev, and on Saturday, he won in singles against Zverev again. However, he fell just short of the title after losing to Alcaraz.

In the press conference, Fritz was asked to compare playing against Alcaraz with his match against Jannik Sinner in the US Open final and the differences in facing both stars. “It’s a little tough to compare the two, just because the conditions are so incredibly different, it’s so much slower here versus the US Open, so it’s very tough,” he said.

“I did feel Jannik maybe can serve a bit better, but from the ground I felt like I had pretty much no time to play today, trying to get into rallies, feel things out,” the recent US Open runner-up added. “I just didn’t really ever get to settle in. I was always being rushed and moved, and I definitely felt like I had less breathing room against Carlos. But I mean, both are insane players.”

The American No. 1 also discussed the physical issues he faced during the week, though he admitted it wasn’t anything serious: “I just have something with the balls. I’ve been having some tightness in my left shoulder, noticed it after the first day. It’s more from hitting backhands and it gets tight, and I struggle to toss the ball a bit, but it kind of lit up on me a bit in the second set of the match yesterday.”

“I thought it felt better today, and then after just the first couple of games, I kind of felt it tightening up. It’s nothing crazy, but I thought if I could take some painkillers and make me feel better, I might as well.”

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