Taylor Fritz will likely become the highest-ranked American player after the Australian Open (unless Ben Shelton defeats Jannik Sinner). But the American’s future after that is difficult to predict, with lingering knee issues clouding the possibilities.
Fritz, who was defeated in straight sets by Lorenzo Musetti on Day 9, remains hopeful that he can recover from tendonitis in his knee and play the full season. But if we read his words, there doesn’t seem to be much clarity.
Going into the Australian Open, he believed that if the situation didn’t improve, he might have to shut down his season temporarily and focus 100 percent on rehabbing his knee. There was something clearly wrong with the knee, but Fritz still had the will to keep going.
“The protocols to be resolved, the timing, you know, there are very clear criteria,” Fritz said of addressing his particular issue.
“How I felt when I first got to Australia, I told my team, I said, ‘Look, if things stay like this, we’re going to have to stop because I don’t think it’s getting any better. I can’t get through this.'”
Fritz said his physical therapist [Wolfgang Oswald, aka “Wolf”] Believing that he is on a firm footing in the face of injuries, Fritz doesn’t seem to think so.
“So I was totally prepared to shut down for a few months to get better, but you know, my physical therapist, who’s great and I trust him, said he thought there was a good chance we could get through all the rehab regimen and do everything we need to do while I’m still playing. When I’m off between games I can rest and maybe not play as many games. You know, he thought it was possible to make it better while I’m playing. So we said let’s give it a try and see how it goes.”
Fritz said that was still the plan, although he reported more severe symptoms in his knee as the game went on.
“Up until three days ago, I thought everything was going well. So I think that’s still the plan moving forward,” he said.
Fritz’s transparency on the subject before the game was the reason many weren’t optimistic about his chances of making big progress in Australia. He fought well and made it to the fourth round, but ran out of energy and was dealing with an oblique injury.
Looking ahead, it’s easy to wonder whether he can replicate the form that made him a Grand Slam finalist and top-five player in the past. At least while knees are still an issue.
“My knee is still improving,” Fritz said. “Like I said in the media after the first and second rounds, it’s going to be a process. It feels a lot better. I’m still not 100 percent sure why I regressed after the last two weeks, like three or four days after two weeks and just kept getting better after three weeks.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people who have been through this and they say I will make a full recovery at some point.”
Fritz said he will do his best to secure a spot in next month’s Dallas Open draw.
“I guess I wish I could play against Dallas,” he said. “I don’t know why my knee has been so bad the last three days. Like I said, with my first two rounds and all the practice before that, it felt really good.
“I don’t know if it’s just match overload, you know, like physically three sets, four sets and stuff like that. But you know, I have more time to heal it. I feel like I’m keeping up with the rehab and it keeps getting better. I’m not going to play more than three sets in any of my games in Dallas, so figuring that out. If my knee doesn’t feel better, if my obliques don’t feel better, I’ll give myself time.”
