"It was great to play well with pressure on" admits Taylor Fritz after Zverev upset

ATP
Saturday, 16 October 2021 at 12:30
Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz saved match points in his match against Zverev to come back and win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The win sent Fritz to his first ATP 1000 semifinal, his biggest career achievement. The American is playing the best event of his career and it's not even close. His confidence has been sky-high and it was on full display in the match against Zverev. At 5-4, when Zverev served for the match, it was Fritz who was the calmer one and he double down on that in the tiebreak.

After the match he admitted to feeling really confident:

“I was really down and out but I found a way to put myself into it- I really wanted to make him have to close me out and I was able to get back into the match. Normally you would be so nervous in those situations and in the third set tie-break, but I felt so confident being aggressive, going after my game. It feels really great to play well with the pressure on.”

The match had a clear turning point and it happened about 25 minutes before the match concluded. Zverev served for the match and had a match point but could not convert it. 25 minutes later it was Fritz who had a match point with the American winning 17 of the previous 24 points. Asked about that he said:

"The biggest thing was match point down, I wanted to make him serve it out, so I just fought as hard as I could to hold that game. Then I got fortunate in his service game and from there I felt in control and felt really good under the pressure. It is amazing. Especially the way that match ended with such high emotions with the crowd. The crowd was amazing and it is a dream come true.”

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