By Rory Carroll
Jan 16 (Reuters) – American Taylor Fritz said his knee was “definitely improving” after weeks of rehabilitation work, as the big-serving American prepares for his first-round match at the Australian Open on Sunday.
Fritz told Reuters the right knee injury that hampered him at this month’s United Cup had begun to trend in the right direction after a period focused on strengthening away from the court.
“As far as my knee goes, it’s been a lot of really good news lately,” Fritz said on a call from Melbourne.
“This is a thing that takes two to four months of just really solid rehab, a lot of exercise off the court to strengthen and then you start to see improvements,” he said.
“It’s not an injury where you rest and it just goes away.”
He added that after five weeks of the off-season and additional time on site in Melbourne, he was starting to feel the benefits.
“There’s some other stuff I’m dealing with, but as far as the knee goes, it’s definitely improving.”
Fritz went 1-3 in team competition at the United Cup and has slid to ninth seed at the Australian Open, where he takes on France’s Valentin Royer in the first round on Sunday.
Fritz pointed to his return game as a key area for improvement this season after leaning heavily on his huge serve last year.
After Australia, Fritz said he was looking forward to competing for a $1 million prize pool at the MGM Slam in Las Vegas on March 1.
The exhibition event will feature eight players featuring in a 10-point tiebreak knockout format at the T-Mobile Arena, home to the NHL’s Golden Knights and marquee boxing matches.
“We really wanted to do something in Vegas because there’s not that much tennis in Vegas nowadays,” he said
“It’s awesome to do an event there that’s fast-paced and exciting,” he said.
The event comes at a time when tennis is facing criticism over its relentless tour schedule, but Fritz said he benefits from a heavy workload.
“For me, as long as I’m healthy, I like to play,” he said.
“I typically play my best tennis when I’ve had a lot of matches.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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