US Open finalist Taylor Fritz talks League of Legends, why he hated tennis and how he copied Sampras

United States' Taylor Fritz returns the ball to Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

TURIN, Italy (AP) 鈥 The first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final in 15 years has been spending plenty of time in indoor arenas lately.

Not just for tennis, though.

fed his passion for the by attending the world championships for the esports league in Paris and London, respectively.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the things I enjoy, to like kind of grind and play when I鈥檓 not playing (tennis),鈥 Fritz told The Associated Press in an interview at the . 鈥淚鈥檓 such a competitive person so I like to compete in other ways.鈥

The Legends semifinals were held in Paris just before Fritz was due to play at the Paris Masters. Then he went to London for the final.

It was nothing to do with Fritz鈥檚 sponsors, this was purely a personal thing. He wanted to watch the best.

鈥淭he O2 Arena was packed,鈥 Fritz said. 鈥淚t was honestly one of the coolest things I鈥檝e ever been to.鈥

Fritz also plays Legends in his spare time. His position in the game is called 鈥渏ungler.鈥

鈥淵ou鈥檙e kind of the overseer and you鈥檙e paying attention to a lot more things than maybe some other people are,鈥 Fritz said.

He won鈥檛 play Legends before his tennis matches, though.

鈥淚t sounds crazy, but the game 鈥 and especially the position I play in the game 鈥 is very mentally taxing and mentally draining,鈥 Fritz said. 鈥淚 have to be super dialed in.鈥

Fritz feels he has 鈥榮everal more really good years鈥 ahead

Fritz has also been super dialed in on the tennis court lately.

When he reached the U.S. Open final two months ago, he became the first American man in a Grand Slam singles championship match since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009 鈥 and the first at the U.S. Open since Roddick lost to Federer in 2006.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge accomplishment,鈥 Fritz said.

At 27 and matching his career-best ranking of No. 5, Fritz feels like he has 鈥渟everal more really good years鈥 ahead.

鈥淢y career has always been a very steady progression and just improving a little bit each year,鈥 he added. 鈥淚 wish I was this good when I was 20, 24. But I鈥檓 glad we got to this point at all.鈥

Fritz faces Sinner next in a rematch of the U.S. Open final

Fritz is off to a strong start at the ATP Finals, having beaten Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Sunday at the tournament for the year's top eight players.

On Tuesday, Fritz will face top-ranked Jannik Sinner in a rematch of the .

鈥淚 think I鈥檝e done a good job since then kind of working on those things and improving,鈥 Fritz said of some recent adjustments. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited at the opportunity to see if what I鈥檝e been doing will help me.鈥

Fritz tried to copy Sampras' serve as a kid

Fritz grew up in San Diego emulating fellow Californian Pete Sampras and trying to imitate the 14-time Grand Slam champion鈥檚 serve.

鈥淚 lift my toe up on my left foot 鈥 that鈥檚 literally just because I tried to copy his serve and he would do that,鈥 Fritz said. 鈥淚t really doesn鈥檛 look very similar. It鈥檚 kind of my version of what I came up with after watching his serve.鈥

Nevertheless, the 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Fritz is one of the top servers on tour. And there's another connection to his idol: One of Fritz鈥檚 coaches, Paul Annacone, formerly worked with Sampras.

Fritz 鈥榟ated鈥 playing tennis as a kid

Fritz鈥檚 mother, Kathy May, was a top-10 player, and his father, Guy, is a tennis coach. He grew up with a tennis court in his backyard.

Still, Fritz鈥檚 dad had to 鈥渂ribe鈥 him to get on the court.

鈥淚 just hated playing tennis and I wanted to play every other sport,鈥 Fritz said. 鈥淏ut it ended up working out because once I got a little bit older, I started to enjoy it more.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 like practicing tennis when I was a kid. But I loved playing tournaments. I love getting out there and competing. And I started to see it in that way and I started to enjoy the hard work.鈥

Fritz gets embarrassed when taking pictures of girlfriend Morgan Riddle

Fritz often takes photos of his girlfriend, , for her Instagram account.

鈥淚鈥檝e definitely gotten a lot better over the last couple of years but very reluctantly,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very embarrassing in public when I鈥檓 taking pictures (and) people are looking at me taking pictures of her. But you got to do what you got to do sometimes. She also takes good pictures of me.鈥

Fritz鈥檚 son won鈥檛 be satisfied until his dad is No. 1

Fritz opened up about his relationship with his son, Jordan, during the Netflix series 鈥淏reak Point鈥 last year, recounting how the boy was disappointed to learn that his father wasn鈥檛 No. 1 in the rankings.

So how did Jordan 鈥 who is from a previous relationship 鈥 react to Fritz reaching the U.S. Open final?

鈥淚 think he understood that that was a big deal,鈥 Fritz said. 鈥淏ut it motivates me to do better, because every time I say, 鈥業鈥檓 5 in the world, 6 in the world,鈥 he鈥檚 very unimpressed. I think until I鈥檓 at the very top, it鈥檚 going to take a lot to impress him.鈥

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