Taylor Fritz was knocked out of the US Open by Francisco Cerúndolo, at a point in the draw where he looked capable of reaching the semi-finals. Once out, he wanted to keep practising with the same balls used at the tournament. He couldn’t find any on sale.
Speaking to Tennis Channel, he said the problem was not the quality of the balls themselves, but the fact that they change from one event to the next.
“I can’t really enjoy the way I’m hitting the ball, because as soon as I get to another tournament we change balls and I have to learn all over again how they’re going to come off my racquet,” he said.
So, it’s very simple: the balls, I said it back in January. Ninety per cent of the exits people call inexplicable are decided right there, and I’m being generous. Me, in Kitzbühel, in ’92, I got through three rounds with the same tube. Well, two — for the third we opened a fresh tube, and it showed on the scoreboard, hein. Careful, I’m not saying the opposite of what I said. I’m clarifying.
Asked what should happen next, Jean-Pol said he has been calling for one single ball across the whole season “for years, nobody listens to me”, before adding that having different balls “is part of the job too, for the real ones”. Both positions were held inside the same minute.
A top 10 player who can’t find his balls, I know the principle. My feel changes from one week to the next as well, except in my case it’s the strings.
Brands, models and ball characteristics vary across the calendar, which forces players to readjust their game and their feel. Fritz wants more uniformity on the tour.
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