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Taylor Writz has expressed his frustration with the court speed at the 2025 Shanghai Masters, throwing light on the challenging experience of playing at the tournament. The American is aiming to win his third title of the season at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
After a bye in the first round, Fritz faced Fabian Marozsán in his opening clash and secured a 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6 (1) win to keep his hopes alive at the tournament. After his win, the World No. 4 validated the concerns about the Shanghai Masters slowing down the court conditions for this year's event.
In his post-match interview, Taylor Fritz opened up about the "incredibly slow" playing conditions in Shanghai and labeled it "very bad change" for the ATP Masters 1000 event. The American player also detailed the changes in the conditions from last year and said that the combination of the slow balls and the humidity made for a very tough on-court experience.
"It is incredibly slow. If I’m being honest, it’s a very bad change here. Last year, the courts were obviously fast on the speed index, but the balls were very slow, so I actually thought the tournament here was played on the slightly slower side, but it was alright. It wasn’t like insanely slow. Now they slowed the courts down. The balls are maybe not quite as slow, but they’re still pretty slow," Taylor Fritz said.
"You play three balls into the ball change, and they’re massive, and you can’t do anything with the ball. Not to mention the humidity as well. It slows it down as well. It feels like the ball’s not going anywhere," he added.
Taylor Fritz is not the only one to complain, since Roger Federer has said that he disapproves of tournament organizers changing court conditions across the tours. The 20 time Grand Slam champion also shared a bold theory for the trend, which involved Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Taylor Fritz reacts on competing at Shanghai Masters after sustaining injury
In the same interview, Taylor Fritz threw light on his tough turnaround at the Shanghai Masters after suffering an injury during his defeat against Carlos Alcaraz in the Japan Open final.
Although the American player was happy to feel mostly fit during his tournament opener, he said that he did not get enough practice time at the ATP Masters 1000 event and get a feel for the slow court conditions.
"I injured myself in that Tokyo final, and I’m still feeling that a bit on the leg. I’m very lucky, actually. I felt way better than I expected to for this match, so that’s a huge positive as far as the injury goes. But it’s an incredibly tough turnaround," Fritz said.
"The conditions are really different. I just couldn’t get a feel for how the ball was going to bounce on this court. It’s really slow. You just have to have to play very differently, and it would have been nice to get some practice sets in, and I just didn’t have the time for that," he added.
Taylor Fritz will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the third round of the Shanghai Masters. The duo have only faced each other in one previous tour-level encounter, with Fritz winning 6-7 (6), 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4 at the year's Wimbledon Championships.
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