Former Australian player and doubles world No. 1 Paul McNamee has questioned Taylor Fritz’s plan to skip the entire clay-court swing if his performance falls short at the ongoing Miami Open.
Fritz is currently dealing with knee tendinitis and recently expressed his willingness to sacrifice the entire clay-court season and focus on a full recovery if his Miami Open run doesn’t pan out.
Paul McNamee Questions Taylor Fritz’s Plan To Skip Clay Season if Miami Open Falls Short Amid Knee Concern
Fritz had already revealed at the start of the season that he wasn’t fully fit and was managing a knee issue, which reflected in his results. He lost most of his singles matches at the United Cup, exited in the fourth round of the Australian Open, and, despite finishing runner-up in Dallas and reaching the quarterfinals in Delray Beach, he bowed out in the third round at Indian Wells.
During his press conference ahead of his Miami Open campaign, the American revealed that if he and his team do not see significant improvement this week, he would consider taking a break to fully recover, even if it means missing the clay-court season.
“This is kind of the cut-off. We said, after Miami, if we’re not seeing big improvements, it might be time to just, like, slow down a bit on the playing and get it healed 100 percent. Because if there was a portion of the season that I think I’d be more okay missing, it would be the clay-court season, like I did last year. I think this week is going to be very telling for it. But, overall, it’s not bad,” Fritz said.
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While the American’s performance at the Miami Open could play a key role in deciding his potential break from tennis, former Australian player McNamee believes clay is the only surface that may not put as much strain on Fritz’s knee.
“Except the only surface to play on which protects the knees is clay no?” He questioned on X.
SEE ALSO: Taylor Fritz Willing To Sacrifice Clay Season if Miami Open Doesn’t Deliver Desired Result
When a fan argued that the clay is more prone to grueling matches, and it won’t protect his knee much, McNamee replied, “You’d be surprised… it’s hardcourt which does the damage.”
Nonetheless, Fritz will aim to deliver his best and make a deep run in Miami. As the sixth seed, he has received a bye into the second round, where he is set to face either Denis Shapovalov or Botic van de Zandschulp. It remains to be seen how his Miami Open campaign shapes his plans going forward.
