“Right now, I’m pretty disappointed in just a lot of things on the court, how I played, how I hit certain shots. It sucks,” Fritz said in a post-match, pathos-filled press conference during which he often found himself groping for the right words in a monotone, eyes downcast.
He paused and then continued, “I’m not saying that it necessarily would have made a difference. I feel like, I don’t know, I feel like the fans obviously, American fans, have been wanting a men’s champion for a long time. I’m pretty upset with how I played. I feel like, I don’t know, I feel like I almost let a lot of people down.”
The comedown was particularly severe because, after winning a stomach-churning, well-fought semifinal against Frances Tiafoe, his friend and rival, Fritz breathed an enormous sigh of relief. That occasion was an old-fashioned, star-studded New York happening, filled with an uncomfortable amount of pressure for the favorite, Fritz.
