By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday July 1, 2021
Taylor Fritz had his mind on Wimbledon the minute he woke up from surgery three weeks ago. Now he's into round three.
Photo Source: Getty
“Maybe this crazy run can continue,” says Taylor Fritz, triumphantly, after defeating compatriot Steve Johnson in five sets on Day 4 at Wimbledon.
The American is—mind-blowingly—into the third round at the All England Club after departing Roland Garros in a wheelchair just over three weeks ago.
What happened between then and now is the stuff of tennis legend.
Fritz set his mind on recovering way ahead of schedule after he had surgery to repair his right meniscus just over three weeks ago (true story), and once he got the ok from his medical team, he was off and running, in true vision quest mode.
Before he went under the knife Fritz knew he had two options. One was that the knee would need major repair and he’d be out six to eight months. The other was that the knee would need "minor repair" and he’d be on a four to six weeks timeline.
As soon as he found out he got the minor repair his groggy brain started dreaming of London.
“First thing when I woke up, I was loopy from the anesthesia, and the first thing I said was, ‘Did he repair it or did he snip it?’” he said. “They said, ‘He snipped it.’ Immediately from then on I was just thinking, like, Wimbledon—everything I can possibly do to be here.”
Three weeks later Fritz, fit and fabulous, is on the cusp of a major breakthrough. He was out on Wimbledon's grass on Thursday, winning a five-setter on Court 17 with a black sleeve protecting his leg. He says he looked for a white sleeve to comply with Wimbledon’s all-white dress code, but when he could only find black the tournament gave him a medical waiver.
Now, the rest is gravy for the 23-year-old. He’ll face Alexander Zverev for a shot in the round of 16 for the first time at a major.
Can he keep this crazy run going?
“I don't see why not,” he said. “I've got a day to recover, so use that the best I can. Yeah, the knee is feeling good. You know, no reason to stop.”