Taylor Fritz has won his first match at the Washington Open, dismissing Aleksandar Vukic with relative ease.
The big-hitting American enjoyed a fantastic Wimbledon campaign, coming through two five-set matches in the opening two rounds on his way to a semi-final appearance.
Unfortunately for Fritz, he ran into Carlos Alcaraz, who won the match in four sets despite Fritz having two set points in the fourth set.
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In Washington, Fritz started off the hard-court season in style, defeating Australian player Aleksandar Vukic 6-3 6-2. Fritz was simply superb, winning 88 per cent of his first serve points and converting three of his four break-point opportunities
The transition from the relatively small period of grass court play to the hard courts can be tricky for some players. They must adapt to higher bounces on the hard courts and a reduced pace of play.
However, Taylor Fritz has identified the ‘biggest change’ after switching to the hard courts.
Taylor Fritz says the type of ball is the ‘biggest change’ during the American hard-court swing
During the post-match press conference, Fritz was asked about the transition from grass courts to hard courts.
Fritz said: “I mean, there is definitely a lot of changes I need to make.
“I think especially the biggest change is the balls. I think the Wilson US Open balls are probably the hardest ones to control. Definitely I feel of all the balls we use, it’s the easiest ball to miss.
“They are bouncier, they’re a bit harder.
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“So it is about dialing it in, feeling like I can put balls in the court, and also accepting a bit that I’m maybe going to make more errors than normal, maybe being patient with myself.
“It is really nice to bring that confidence of winning matches from grass court season to hard court season, regardless of the conditions, that just winning matches and being confident is obviously going to help a lot.”
Fritz previews ‘dangerous’ next opponent in Washington
During the same press conference, Fritz discussed his next opponent in Washington, Matteo Arnaldi. The American described the Italian as ‘dangerous’ and ‘too good’ in their last encounter.
Fritz said: “I think he’s [Arnaldi] a guy that when he’s on, the level is really high.
“I felt like in Acapulco he played well. I feel like I played fine, and he — I thought I played pretty well in that match, and he just straight up beat me. He was too good.
“It’s a dangerous match, because when things are clicking for him, he does everything really well. He’s super fast, hits the ball big off both sides. He serves well. So, you know, I have to be really prepared for a tough match.”
Fritz is, of course, talking about his only ever match against Arnaldi on the ATP Tour. Arnaldi recorded his first-ever top 10 win on hard courts by beating Fritz at the 2024 Acapulco Open, winning 6-4 4-6 6-3.
The American will hope to perform well in Washington. After all, he is the top seed. If he does go all the way in DC, he could be a strong contender for the US Open title.