After winning a medal in Paris, Taylor Fritz has bigger goals in mind.
Fritz represented the United States at the Olympics earlier this month, and while it didn't go exactly how he hoped, it was still an unforgettable experience representing the Stars and Stripes.
“It was amazing. I always love playing for the U.S. I always feel like I play well when I play for the U.S. Being my first Olympics, I'm happy that I was able to at least bring back a medal,” Fritz told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. He and fellow American Tommy Paul won a bronze in men's doubles.
Fritz's tennis schedule is quite intense, as he now prepares for the US Open. The Olympics were essentially his fifth Grand Slam this year, and Fritz, a partner at Eight Sleep, is prioritizing his sleep to maximize his potential.
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Taylor Fritz of the United States celebrates victory during the men's doubles bronze medal match on day eight of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Roland Garros on August 3, 2024 in Paris. (RvS.Media/Robert Hradil/Getty Images)
“I really like aligning myself with brands that I personally use and that I think can help me. When it comes to sleep, I think sleep is one of the most important aspects, if not the most important aspect, to perform well as an athlete,” Fritz said. “Even in general, if you're not an athlete, it's very important. Optimizing sleep, looking at all the data behind sleep, has been very important to me and I think it makes a lot of sense, as an athlete, to partner with them.”
Fritz was able to bring an Eight Sleep cooling capsule to Paris to combat the scorching heat while trying to get some sleep abroad. “The sleeping conditions there were not ideal,” he said.
However, despite the scheduling problems and his imperfect living situation, Fritz did not miss the Games.
“I didn't go to the last tournament and I'll be 30 next time so I was determined to go to this one. As far as how the schedule works… it's not ideal in the tennis calendar but it's one of those things where I really wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to go this year,” he said.
Fritz has yet to overcome the hurdle despite being ranked No. 5 in the world. He has yet to reach a Grand Slam semi-final.
It's been quite some time since the face of tennis was an American, but Fritz doesn't feel the pressure to become that for the sake of his country: It's simply a title he wants to keep.
“We all want to do it, but it's more for ourselves. I want to do it for me,” he said. “That's what I want: I want to win a Grand Slam, I want to be the man, but that's the pressure I put on myself to achieve it.”
Considering that, as Fritz said, in every tournament “everyone loses except one person,” it is important to keep a cool head in an individual sport. However, Fritz has a pretty good idea of what constitutes success.
Taylor Fritz of the United States looks dejected against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina during their men's singles third round match on day seven of the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros on June 3, 2023 in Paris. (Christian Liebig-Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
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“I think to get something positive out of it, I feel like I need to do well or at least better than my ranking… There are always, many times, positive things to take away. But usually I get pretty far in tournaments and the year-end ranking needs to be higher than the previous year, otherwise I'm pretty disappointed.”
Now it's time for the US Open. It's the last Grand Slam of the year and Fritz's last chance to make a name for himself on the map. At the same time, however, Fritz wants to see a reasonable number of players fighting for the Grand Slams, not the same “one, two, three people” that it has been for a long time.
“I think it's more fun that way if it's not just one person winning everything all the time. I think it's more exciting for the fans if you go to a big tournament and you have eight different players who can take the title,” Fritz said. “I think it's more exciting and crazy things can happen.”
However, Fritz wants to etch his name into the history books and take home a win in Queens next month.
Taylor Fritz competes in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open tennis championships inside Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York on September 5, 2023. (Andrew Schwartz for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
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“I came in a week early, so I'm excited to get out there and get a good week of training and get everything ready. I have that confidence and I'm ready to go,” he said. “I just have to take things game by game, not look too far ahead, and once I get myself into that quarter-final position like I've done a couple of times already, it's just going to take me playing well in that game.”
“Just playing well, and once I get over that hurdle, I think for me, those things always become a lot easier to repeat once I've done it once or twice. So I just have to keep putting myself in the situation, keep playing good matches when I get to the quarterfinals, but also take things one at a time.
“And sleep. That's the most important thing.”
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