"I'm okay but embarrassed not being able to finish the match" - Fritz after Washington retirement

Taylor Fritz struggled with the Washington heat a lot in the matchup against Evans and he ultimately retired from the match in the final set.

Fritz retired because he was down 1-4 and there was no reason to push himself further in the brutal conditions that left him playing lightheaded for the majority of the match. Washington is experiencing a significant heatwave this week with temperatures regularly over 30 (80) degrees. When you add the occasional rain into that mix you get a weird combination of factors that include high humidity, a high temperature and the hard courts that reflect the heat even more.

Fritz struggled with it a lot:

"First off, health-wise I’m okay. I feel embarrassed not being able to finish a match. I’ve never pulled out of a match in my life but after my episode in Toronto last year where I pushed myself to finish the match and almost passed out, I assured my team I would pull out if similar symptoms happened again. Typically, I pride myself on my fitness and ability to compete in very hot/ humid, brutal conditions.”

Despite the loss, Fritz was happy bout his week in Washington because his foot held up pretty well this week which was important for him. Why? Well, he explained it:

"Many don’t know this but I have been in a boot since Wimbledon and although I have been doing heavy fitness while in the boot, no amount of assault bike in the gym can prepare you for playing a long match in these type of conditions. I started practice on court again this Saturday so playing here in DC was definitely ambitious but I’m really happy with my actual level of tennis and I’m really happy that my foot is feeling good. Today I constantly felt like I was going to pass out, my vision was going fuzzy, and the only thing that can really prepare me for playing in these conditions… is playing in these conditions.”