Fritz after losing to Monfils: "He played very well and there wasn't much I could do".
Taylor Fritz fell from grace on Saturday. The American had been imperious since the start of the tournament, conceding just eight games in his first two rounds.
But this time, the world number 4 was toppled by a very good Gaël Monfils, who won his eighth consecutive match. Present at the press conference, Fritz praised his opponent's performance.
"I'm very demanding of myself, but this defeat won't keep me awake at night. Gaël just played a very good match.
He served incredibly well and varied the areas well. I was never able to decipher his serve and anticipate where he was going to put the ball.
And when he didn't get his first one in, he served big seconds that took me out of the court. It was really complicated to attack his second balls.
Even if I knew where the ball was going to arrive, he used so many slices that it was very complicated to hit the ball well. And he returned my serve well, even when I tried to vary.
It was hard to hurt him, he returned everything. Even when I hit hard, it didn't hurt him. I never felt like I was outplaying him, and yet I wasn't holding back my shots.
The way he came at me seemed far too easy compared to what I could do to hurt him.
He played very, very well and there wasn't much I could do. If he keeps playing like that... He won a title a week ago in Auckland, he had a five-set match in the first round, and that was just as physical.
It was hot. But if he can keep playing like he did today, I think it'll be difficult for anyone to beat him.
He's just very hard to play against," he said, according to L'Équipe.
Australian Open 
