World No. 4 Taylor Fritz has expressed his disappointment following his defeat to Jakub Mensik in the Miami Masters semi-finals. The match concluded with a score of 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-7(4) in favor of Mensik.
Fritz admitted the loss was painful, stating, “It hurts, for sure. I should have won one of the two tie-breaks, I should have played much better.” He elaborated on his frustration, saying, “When I play well, I win. Being in these situations and losing two tie-breaks, it sucks. It feels like everything is okay, you haven`t given away your serve, but you still lost. I didn`t have a single break point until the third set, which is terrible.”
Acknowledging Mensik`s performance, Fritz commented, “Speaking about Mensik, he is good. I played him at the US Open when he was just 18. He has improved a lot in all aspects since then. When you are that young, you are supposed to improve. He definitely serves better now. Last time we played, he had a great serve, but he didn`t know how to use it. Today he served amazingly, I couldn`t do almost anything on return. He was constantly hitting close to the lines, it was sharp.”
When asked about the final between Mensik and Novak Djokovic, and who he considered the favorite, Fritz stated, “Maybe it sounds like sour grapes after losing to him for the 10th time, but I always pick Djokovic. For me, he is always the favorite. It will be interesting to watch, I am not sure. Are they playing during the day?”
Fritz further analyzed the potential match dynamics, adding, “If they play during the day, it`s an advantage for Mensik. During the day, Jakub`s serve will bring him more benefit, he will be able to win many easy points with it. We`ll see. The question is how well he will be able to serve. I think if Novak is good on return, then he will be very difficult to beat.”
