Elliott: How Taylor Fritz moved ahead in the world rankings by looking back

To proceed shifting ahead Taylor Fritz of Rancho Palos Verdes first needed to look again.

Fritz was looking for methods to diversify his recreation and speed up his climb up the tennis rankings when it occurred to him to noticeably study his longstanding joke that he had hit his forehand higher when he was 17 or 18 years outdated than he had been doing in his early 20s. He dug up outdated video of his forehand and tried to duplicate it in his matches. The rewards have been nearly rapid.

Fritz, 24, reached the ultimate 16 on the Australian Open this yr for the primary time, a run that ended with a five-set loss to world No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas. He additionally improved his rating to sixteenth final month, one other profession pinnacle.

Ranked No. 39 on the earth when he made a formidable run to the semifinals of the pandemic-delayed BNP Paribas Open final October, Fritz arrived at this yr’s occasion at No. 20 and with the short-term aim of cracking the highest 10. The forehand that was so efficient for him throughout his teen years has develop into a key aspect in his arsenal once more and is fueling his quest to attain the stardom that has been predicted for him since 2015, when he reached the French Open junior ultimate and received the U.S. Open junior title.

“I simply went again and watched some movies of me hitting it again then and sort of begin of visualizing that,” he mentioned of his forehand, “after which it simply began clicking in matches and I began actually swinging out on it and it simply began feeling actually good.

“I believe simply my degree as a participant has gone up. I believe I’ve gone up a number of ranges. I believe I’m a manner higher participant than I used to be after I was right here final yr, and I believe I’ve improved so much. What’s sort of, I believe, tying all of it collectively and actually making the distinction is simply the forehand. That’s develop into a lot extra of a weapon, I hit so many extra winners on it than I used to. It’s simply one thing I actually sort of wanted in my recreation. It units up loads of factors, it wins me loads of huge factors.”

Fritz, seeded No. 20 at this yr’s Indian Wells event, opened play on Sunday with a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Kamil Majchrzak of Poland. Fritz had eight aces towards the Seventy fifth-ranked Majchrzak, saved the one break level he confronted on his serve, and was credited with 23 winners and 10 unforced errors within the 57-minute match.

Fritz mentioned he was nervous Sunday however his jitters weren’t obvious. He was rightfully happy along with his efficiency however he wasn’t complacent, a wholesome perspective to have as he ready for his third-round matchup Tuesday towards the winner of Sunday night time’s match between No. 16 seed Pablo Carreno Busta and unseeded Jaume Munar.

“It sounds very nitpicky as a result of clearly it was 6-1, 6-1 right now, however I believe there have been some issues I may have achieved a bit higher,” Fritz mentioned. “So, tighten up some issues [Monday] in observe however, yeah, confidence-wise, it’s nice to start out out with a match like this.”

Fritz, who trains in Carson, additionally credited his new teaching state of affairs for his current sturdy outcomes. He had been coached by David Nainkin and Paul Annacone however when Nainkin stopped touring Fritz added former tour participant and U.S. Tennis Assn. coach Michael Russell to his staff. Russell travels with Fritz full-time.

The adjustment has been easy, Fritz mentioned, as a result of he and Russell had labored collectively for a number of weeks late final yr. Russell has dropped at their collaboration an depth that Fritz acknowledged had been lacking from his coaching.

“He pushes me actually arduous to work extra, and typically I would like that further kick to do further and work further,” Fritz mentioned. “So I believe that’s one thing that works very well with us.”

As he spoke at a post-match information convention, his each phrase and transfer have been being captured by a crew that has been following him to assemble materials for a Netflix docuseries. It’s supposed to present a behind-the-scenes have a look at life on the boys’s tour and at Fritz himself.

Fritz has develop into accustomed to being on digital camera and he mentioned he’s not being cautious about what he says or does as a result of he’s not apprehensive about how he’ll come off.

“I’m simply going to be myself and it’s what it’s on the end result,” he mentioned. “I hope folks like me, but when not, I’m simply not going to fret about it.”