Taylor Fritz impressed en route to the Lyon Open final, but once he got there, the result was disappointing.
Pitted against Lorenzo Musetti, who had not won a title in four years, there was an expectation that the American would win this one easily.
After all, his opponent was coming off the back of a gruelling run, having beaten Luca Van Assche in a three-hour and 32-minute quarter-final, before then outlasting his countryman Flavio Cobolli after saving four match points.
Physically, he was spent, and yet Taylor Fritz could not crack the code.
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Rennae Stubbs, delivering her post-match assessment, was left stunned by what she saw from the 28-year-old.
After all, she argued that whilst he may be regarded as one of the sport’s most analytical minds, he came across as ‘stubborn’ during his eventual loss to Musetti.
Taylor Fritz’s Lyon Open final performance slammed
Speaking on her Rennae Stubbs podcast, she stated: ”If that match was not an indicator of what I have been talking about for years now with Taylor… it’s his inability to go forward to the net.”
Referencing the ‘notoriously slow’ court, she explained how such conditions nullified Fritz’s biggest threat: his serve.
His inability to get these easy free points dragged matches out, but with Musetti’s one-handed backhand, another opportunity was there for him to exploit.
And yet, he failed to capitalise.
Stubbs continued: “Watching the match, it was so evident to me that his inability to know what to do inside the service line area, towards the net, is so obvious when he plays someone like Musetti.
“You have to be able to come in and attack the one-hander. As good as his backhand is, it’s more attackable than a two-handed backhand, where they can use the left hand to manipulate the ball a bit to make it easier to hit a passing shot.
“I just sat and watched the match, and I was like ‘dude, there were so many opportunities to come in, and he just refuses to come in’. To this day he is so stubborn. Yet he is so smart.”
Stubbs emphasised how refreshing it is to speak to Fritz about tennis, because of his knowledge.
However, she caveated that by adding: “It just surprises me that he does not understand why getting better at the net and transitioning better to going forward at the net stops him winning matches that he should be winning. That was the perfect indicator of it to me. I don’t understand why he doesn’t just spend two months trying to figure out how to move better moving forward and how to volley better, because it costs him. Big time.”
Fritz’s Lyon draw was brutal, but he bypassed most of it with ease. It was disappointing to see him fall so far off the mark in the final, after working so hard to reach that stage.
With this in mind, Fritz’s ATP Finals chances remain slim, but wholly possible given he still has events in Basel and Paris to earn huge points.
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