Taylor Fritz successfully defended his seventh career title at the Delray Beach Open in the United States on Monday.
The 26-year-old Fritz defeated fellow American and close friend Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-3 to become just the second player in tournament history to win the event two years in a row, joining Jason Stoltenberg, who accomplished the feat in 1996 and 1997. The final was delayed by a day due to rain and it was windy throughout the week, but Fritz persevered.
“I had a long list of things I needed to do well, but I think a lot of that went out the window when we realised the conditions for the match, [that it was] going to be so windy,” Fritz said. “On both sides, I had different ideas of what I wanted to do because [I was] just limited with the wind. I tried to serve as best I could, which it got me out of some trouble. I started to find it at the end. But it’s incredibly tough to play, do what you want to do when it’s windy like this.”
“I think there were some questions about how I was physically feeling,” Fritz said. “I didn’t play one of the rubbers at Davis Cup. I wasn’t feeling amazing after Australia, so it’s great to come here and feel like I’m moving and physically I’m definitely there and can keep playing.
“I don’t need to take any time off to recover and mentally, it was tough conditions, especially today. I kind of just powered through it. All the pressure was on me this week defending the title and I was able to get through it.”
Taylor Fritz has now won six consecutive ATP Tour finals dating back to the start of the 2022 season. This is the first time he has successfully defended a title, and he did it without losing a set.
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