“Those who know American tennis star Taylor Fritz best say his secret weapon is his belief. We’re not referring to your usual pro athlete confidence or cockiness. Fritz isn’t one for smack talk. Or much talk at all. It’s all in his facial expressions, his walk, his aura. Fritz often walks onto a court, no matter who he’s about to play, looking like he has already won. He almost seems to be lacking whatever brain synapses create self-doubt. When he loses, he appears more confused than upset. “Taylor is delusionally optimistic,” his doubles teammate and childhood friend Reilly Opelka has said about him. “Like, totally delusionally optimistic.” Fritz himself once tried to explain it: “[I’m optimistic] to a point where things that shouldn’t be possible, I think I can make happen. I guess I’m playing tricks in my mind.”
Case in point: When Fritz walked onto the Stadium 1 court at Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the 2022 men’s final against Rafael Nadal, there was quite a bit of wind. The windy season in the California desert has always coincided with tennis season, as nearly half a million fans pile into the second largest outdoor tennis venue in the world every March for the annual BNP Paribas Open. While wind can be a defining feature of this particular stop on the tour (like rain delays at Wimbledon), that afternoon faced gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour. Cameras sitting higher up on center court captured the oppressive jet-engine roar that batters sensitive microphones. Even down on the court, with 360-degree protection of the 16,100-seat arena, players’ shirts fluttered rapidly…”
[Read the full article at palmspringslife.com]