Michael Russell: ‘There’s new blood in the mix’ | ATP Tour

Coaches Corner

Michael Russell: ‘There’s new blood in the mix’

Coach reflects on Fritz’s New York breakthrough

September 04, 2024

Michael Russell has helped Taylor Fritz to his greatest heights, and the former No. 60 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was thrilled to see his charge reach his first major semi-final on Tuesday at the US Open.

“He’s been on the cusp of getting to the semi-finals, and then to do it here at the US Open, I mean, it’s fantastic,” Russell said. “He’s super excited and so is the team. Obviously there’s always a lot of talk of the next American to win a Grand Slam, and pretty far from it still, but one step closer. I thought he did a great job of managing his emotions today.

“We’re just really proud of the way he handled the situation. [We will have a] mini celebration, as you say, and then tomorrow, just get right back to work.”

Fritz and his team has worked hard to ensure he is physically ready for moments like these. The American won in straight sets in his first three matches, then battled through tight four-setters against eighth seed Casper Ruud and fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

The home favourite lost his first four major quarter-finals, but did not let slip his fifth opportunity against Zverev, who he also defeated at Wimbledon.

“I think it’s a combination of being in the situation, the experience, and also not having the complacency. Sometimes you come into tournaments and you’re, ‘Oh, quarter-finals is a great result’, which it is,” Russell said. “But at the end of the day you show up at tournaments to win tournaments. Easier said than done.”

The 26-year-old, seeded 12th in New York, has done well to take control of rallies and play aggressively to gain the upper hand. According to Russell, they have been working on recognising when he has hurt his opponent and taking advantage by moving forward.

“There’s still work to be done but his transition game is getting better,” Russell said. “The fact he’s seeing it pay off, especially here at the US Open in some big points just like in that fourth-set tiebreak, where he snuck in, was able to finish a volley. He’s starting to buy into it and believe it. It’s good to see. That’s a big step that we’ve been really emphasising for him to win these bigger stages.”

Now Fritz is just two matches from becoming the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003. For years, the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have dominated the Grand Slam tournaments. But with none of them in the draw, the likes of Fritz see an opportunity.

“It helps a lot, because those three, the Big Three, they dominated the sport for decades. So now they’re stepping away, all of a sudden there’s new blood in the mix,” Russell said. “All of a sudden you have new champions. All the guys see that, ‘Hey, it could be my turn now’. Not to say they can’t beat those guys, but they really did dominate to the point where they were never losing matches. Now you’ve got new winners, new guys coming up, and all these guys, including Taylor, they think they can win Grand Slams.”