For Taylor Fritz, the Indian Wells tournament holds an emotional significance. Having grown up in the vicinity, Fritz has childhood memories of attending the prestigious event with his family. His dreams of clinching the coveted BNP Paribas Open title – often dubbed the ‘fifth Slam’ – came to fruition in the 2022 edition, where he emerged victorious against tennis legend, Rafael Nadal.
Fritz, who currently holds the world number 4 ranking, experienced a meteoric rise in the latter half of the previous year. However, he entered the first Masters 1000 of the season not at his peak, grappling with a knee injury that had been troubling him for weeks. The injury had even compelled him to withdraw from the Acapulco ATP 500.
The 2024 US Open finalist was determined to compete on his home turf, despite not having high hopes due to the aforementioned reason. His California journey commenced with a straight-sets triumph over Italian player, Matteo Gigante. This victory, however, highlighted that Fritz was still not in his optimal form.
His upcoming challenge is against the Chilean player, Alejandro Tabilo, renowned for his prowess on red clay. Interestingly, Tabilo could find the slow pace of the new Indian Wells courts quite accommodating, given their similarity to red clay tournaments like Monte Carlo, as per recent surveys.
Tournaments like these are a hub for player interviews, and Fritz was no exception. When asked to construct his ideal player, the American ace enthusiastically participated. He envisioned the perfect server to resemble Reilly Opelka or John Isner. For the forehand, he drew parallels with Andrey Rublev or Roger Federer. The ideal backhand, according to Fritz, would be akin to Jannik Sinner or Alexander Zverev, while the return game would be reminiscent of Novak Djokovic or again, Jannik Sinner.