Fritz: "I did not expect the match to end so abruptly"

Raquel Bermúdez Rodríguez | 4 Jan 2025 | 17.00

Taylor Fritz talks about the conditions in Australia. Photo: Getty

🎾 Francisco Cerundolo vs Roberto Carballes Baena

* You can watch and bet on this match live here..

Although Jiri Lehecka was just saying the opposite, Taylor Fritz has personally experienced a somewhat more radical change in conditions from one venue to another in this United Cup 2025, a tournament in which the Czech is not participating this year. The American, already with a guaranteed spot in the final, attended the press conference to discuss these adaptations due to the different conditions from Perth to Sydney.

"He told me he was already struggling with cramps a couple of games in. I'm not surprised that either of us started getting cramps in this match. I thought it might happen later, in the third set, but there was a lot of humidity. It was also a very physical match. I didn't expect it to end so abruptly, because I didn't realize at that moment that he had cramps," confessed Taylor, delving deeper into the conditions.

"I feel it's very different. It's very, very different. For me, the ball was flying much more in Perth. The Perth court is probably a bit softer, and I don't know if it's because of the court speed, but it's slower here, possibly due to the air, as I found it more difficult to control the ball. It was definitely faster in Perth. Here, in this particular match, especially in a couple of games, once it got dark, I felt I couldn't generate any kind of rhythm with the ball. It seemed so slow, the ball was dead."

Change of conditions

"The balls wear out much faster. I'd say that within two games, the balls look similar to how they would when we change balls in Perth. So, it's definitely a big change. Yesterday, when I practiced, I thought I did much better than in Perth, but I guess playing a match is completely different from training. It's much heavier, much slower, much more humid."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Fritz: "No esperaba que el partido terminara tan abruptamente"

ATP