Taylor Fritz confident in ability at Roland Garros - "I think I play pretty well on clay"

Despite being made to work for every point in his five-set victory over Argentine qualifier Santiago Rodriguez Taverna, Taylor Fritz believes he can surpass expectations at this year's Roland Garros.

The American escaped with a thrilling 7-6(2) 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 win over the World No. 201, with the raucous crowd firmly engaged despite the rainy conditions.

“I wasn't too surprised,” said Fritz after the match. “I knew kind of what to expect and I knew that he had won three matches in a row, his first main draw, the guy's obviously playing his best tennis.

“He's really confident, he's got nothing to lose playing me, so I expected his level to be high and I think the match was tough.”

Fritz reached his maiden Grand Slam fourth round at January’s Australian Open, and the 24-year-old will hope that run proves to be a watershed moment as he aims to back up his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells by establishing himself as a title challenger at major championships.

Furthermore, the 13th seed moves to a 5-5 record at Roland Garros, with his previous best performance being a third round showing in 2020.

“I think I play pretty well on clay, but it's very matchup based,” said Fritz. “You get a lot of guys that grew up playing on it and that's what suits their game and so they're much more comfortable on it than I am…But as far as my potential to beat people, I think that that's still the same.”