5.39pm: Fritz defeats Murray after 3 hours 2 minutes 8.30pm: Fritz walks onto court to face Thompson 9.59pm: Fritz defeats Thompson to make the semis, totalling 4 hours 20 minutes of play Marathon man 🥵 @Taylor_Fritz97
" I mean they're awful....the heaviest balls in the world": American trio Fritz, Pegula and Tiafoe left bemused and critical at DC Open Washington balls
Tennis NewsSaturday, 05 August 2023 at 20:00
The American Stars Criticize Tennis Balls at Citi Open, Including Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Jessica Pegula.
The top-ranked American players have been critical of the tennis balls being used at the Citi Open this week. On the men's side, Fritz reached the semifinals and is the last remaining American in the draw, making him the favorite to lift the trophy.
Following his match against Australian Jordan Thompson, Fritz expressed his criticism of the heavy tennis balls.
"These balls, I mean they're awful....the heaviest balls in the world."
Read also
"Yeah, it was a war. Just with how these balls are, they're so, like, just slow dead, it's really tough to, like, finish points. You're going to just inevitably have these really long, physical rallies."
On the men's side as well, Tiafoe didn't have the same luck as Fritz and fell in the quarterfinals against Dan Evans. The world No. 10 had played earlier against Shang Juncheng, but couldn't maintain the pace in the evening match against the British player.
"I feel all right. It was really muggy out there. I think the balls help him a lot. They are quite fluffy this week, so it's tough to hit through them. He's able to play his game quite nicely. It was hard, man. I mean, obviously, it's not really an excuse, he did the same thing as me. He stayed late last night, whatever, and he won a pretty convincing match earlier in the day."
"The balls are a bit puffy here. Slower conditions, which helps him with the slice and stuff, slowing me down. Yeah, definitely makes it more physical."
In the women's draw, Jessica Pegula also joined the criticism after her challenging encounter against Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
"Yeah, it was tricky. It was swirling there in the stadium. The balls felt kind of heavy."
"But, yeah, I'm glad that I did (arrived early), because the balls are a ball I have never played with before. It definitely took me a few days to, like, adjust my tension and get used to the conditions. So that kind of worked out."
Pegula will face Maria Sakkari for a spot in the DC Open final, and there could be an all-American final if Coco Gauff defeats Ludmila Samsonova in the second semifinal.
claps 0visitors 288
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Rybakina is back!!
mandoist21-12-2024 - She sems to have a turbulent relationship with The Truth. Not even smartenough to make an excuse like "I severely twisted my ankle yesterday" -- then be seen shopping in some city next day while "recuperating"!mandoist21-12-2024
- Why do you even publish this TwatCaster's PATHETIC stunt for attention? There's plenty of reasons why imbeciles like him are 'talking' and people like Iga Swiatek are 'walking the walk'. Tennisuptodate should be above this tripe.mandoist16-12-2024
- If and when Political Correctness and gullible hearts over-rule BIOLOGY, the Human world begins its already seeming decline.mandoist15-12-2024
- The new generation has arrived and these guys need to do it with the left overs.
AceOfBase13-12-2024 - Every young, inexperiend CEO has "better" ideas (and friends to hire).mandoist12-12-2024
- What a load of nonsense. Emotional stress definitely didn’t cause her wrist or ankle injuries.Lyca10-12-2024
- Taylor Fritz 🎾 – the surprising third for many. 🎄 A great Christmas tree quiz question! 🎅✨MrAndreeva10-12-2024
- Simona Halep taking the axe out 🪓😮💨MrAndreeva08-12-2024
- ITIA is literally a Secret Organization. Way past time for a neutral entity to oversee, if not guide, these Elitists within ITIA whom enjoy their ability to keep their "investigations" in a business as usual format behind closed doors!!mandoist08-12-2024
