"You can't really bank on a men's match that was finishing in three": Taylor Fritz doesn't think US Open use match times to dictate scheduling
ATPFriday, 04 September 2026 at 06:00
Taylor Fritz produced one of the most dominant wins of his Grand Slam career taking down Mattia Bellucci 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 at the US Open.
Fritz is now facing off against Francisco Cerundolo and the American lauded his own display afterwards as he made light work of his latest tie at the 2026 US Open.
"I thought I played really well today. Came out, felt good from the beginning. Things were clicking for me. And I was very focused the whole match. It was very high level for me," said Fritz in his post match press conference.
Bellucci is a familiar foe having faced off with him in Stuttgart and although a different surface as Fritz himself noted, he discussed what was different this time around. "Yeah. I mean, I think he played really well when we played before in Stuttgart. And I felt like for a set, and almost the entire second set when we played in Stuttgart, I thought he was playing just incredible.
"And I think grass makes it so his serve is good enough to where I can't really get on it. And he's going to hold a lot more. And I think it's good for his backhand as well. But these conditions, I think, I mean, I'm on his serve a lot more. I can put a lot more returns in play. The backhand's not coming through as fast, so I can handle it with my forehand cross more.
"I can have that extra time to step around as well and look for forehands off of when he lifts his forehand cross, which is something I can't really do on grass. If I step around it, it's not going to sit up for me. So even though I love grass, I do think these conditions are better for me."
Given it was one of his most emphatic wins ever, the tale of course points towards it being one of his greatest matches ever and while he isn't nitpicking, he doesn't think so.
"I don't know if I'd like for sure say I put it up there in one of the best matches I've ever played, but things were definitely clicking for me. Things felt really good for me.
"I can't really nitpick. I would nitpick a lot to come up with anything that I did wrong, because I felt like all the important parts of my game that make me feel like I'm playing good tennis and feel confident, it was all working for me."
Taylor Fritz at 2025 ATP Finals
Specific court placings not an issue for Fritz
He also doesn't pay much mind to the notion that they would put him on a specific court due to him winning easy. "I don't think they'd put me in a specific spot just because they're thinking about my potential match times. I don't think that they would consider that.
"And yeah, I mean, in hindsight, obviously, it looks like they could put another match. But it gets dangerous if you schedule that. I don't think you can be moving people around at a Slam, because everyone's preparing specifically to play on the court that they're going to play on.
"It's not easy to just tell someone, hey, we're moving you to Ashe last second. And then if you plan ahead of time to put an extra match there, that's when you can get really long, backed-up days if one of the matches happens to go long.
You can't really bank on a men's match that was finishing in three.
But as he moves through again, the American continues to thrive and he is in a good spot ahead of his next challenge. "I feel great. I think it is really important to not kill yourself in the first couple matches, because you need to have the energy to potentially do that later on in the week.
"At the end of the day, you do get a day off. But anyone will tell you one day is not enough to recover from a five-set match. It's just not.
"You can come back and still play good, but it's just—it's not enough to fully recover. So it's good to get through these the way that I've gotten through these.
"And yeah, I think the one today gives me a lot more confidence in the first-round match. I think the first-round match I played like I played OK. But today, you know, everything was really working for me. It definitely gives me a lot of confidence."
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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