Bill Simons
Paris
It’s easy to typecast Taylor Fritz. He’s ripped, he’s powerful, and he fits a certain tall, dark and handsome mold. He’s an imposing Golden State guy with a mighty game. Then again, many an imposing Californian – Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez, Stan Smith, Pete Sampras, Sam Querrey – has ventured off to Europe’s clay court circuit only to get stuck in the Euro-mud. Not Taylor.
The strapping 6’4” lad definitely draws from the American playbook. He has a whoosh of a serve and a fierce, flat forehand that punishes. And yes, he’s an alpha-male who loves his video games, has a man-cave to escape to, and his black, wavy hair rivals Milos Raonic’s. He lives in the tennis mecca of Rancho Palos Verdes, which has given us Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport and Tracy Austin. His tennis pedigree is unquestionable. His mother, Kathy May, was a top ten player. His dad, Guy Fritz, and his uncle Harry were pros who have spent their lives in the game and given him a great foundation.
Still, Taylor is different. He comes from a family of art collectors, violin virtuosos, master photographers, philanthropists and retailing geniuses as well as tennis players. In 2016, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, he proposed to the love of his life, Racquel Pedraza, and then married – as a teen. Now, at 21, he delights fathering his son Jordan. As for tennis, he’s an outlier: here’s one American guy who actually loves red clay – imagine that!
To some, the relentless clay circuit grind – Houston, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Estoril, Madrid, Rome, Lyon – is their idea of tennis hell. This year, Taylor’s found it rather heavenly. Following the Miami Open in early April, he traveled with his family and played on clay every week. In Madrid and Rome, he even played qualies and got into those two big Masters, where he eventually lost to Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori. After Rome, Taylor didn’t rest on his clay laurels. Instead of just laying up before the French Open, he played Lyon, where he reached the semis before he fell to the eventual French winner, Benoit Paire.
Fritz’s improved strength, great timing, and ability to redirect the ball come in handy on clay. Here his foe’s shots often bounce high and into his power zone. Serious, focused and mature for his years, Taylor has scored wins over the likes of John Isner, Diego Schwartzman, Gael Monfils, Grigor Dimitrov and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Now, in Paris, after just a single round of play, nearly the entire American male singles contingent has been wiped out. But not Fritz. After easily dispatching the problematic Aussie Bernie Tomic, Taylor still flies the flag. Now ranked No. 42, he’s earned over $2.3 million and clearly has gained a certain comfort on clay. But he’ll have a considerable challenge when, in the second round, he’ll again face the dangerous Bautista Agut, who won this year in Doha and is the No. 18 seed.
In the 1870s, one of Taylor’s ancestors went from the gold mines of Colorado to St. Louis, where he opened a store called Famous Clothing. His family proved to be retailing geniuses whose May department stores were for decades a staple of the Southern California shopping scene and beyond. Fritz already is a rather famous tennis player. Now American fans hope the clay-friendly papa will show his tennis genius and become a staple on the tennis scene – even on clay.
