Four years after making his ATP Tour debut at the Nature Valley International, when the event was held in Nottingham, Taylor Fritz ended his week at the ATP 250 grass-court tournament as the champion.

The 21-year-old American, competing in his second tour-level championship match, defeated countryman Sam Querrey in straight sets to lift his first trophy on the British South Coast. Fritz’s maiden ATP Tour championship match came over three years ago at 2016 Memphis, but the American has finally captured his first tour-level crown: one of his major goals for the 2019 season.

ATPTour.com caught up with Fritz after his win…

It was a big surprise when you reached your first final in Memphis, what does it mean to you to win your first title more than three years later?
It’s just an amazing feeling. I can’t even describe it. After waiting what feels like so long to win a title after almost winning when I was 18, over three years ago, it is just great to finally win.

When you hit the ace on championship point, you threw your racquet and screamed. What were your emotions in that moment?
There was just so much going on. You play the whole match and obviously you’re nervous, but I just tried not to think about it and keep my emotions in the whole match. Everything just came out when I hit the serve and knew that I had won.

You and Sam Querrey are both Californians who practise often together and you have played each other five times. Was it difficult to play someone you know so well?
No. We’ve played lots of times and I got used to playing other Americans in the juniors all the time. I guess it is tough as we both know each other’s tricks and what kind of things we like to do on the court. But luckily for me today, I handled everything well and played well.

You become the third current 21-year-old American to own an ATP Tour title, joining Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka. Was there added pressure to join that club?
I wouldn’t say added pressure, but maybe added desire to win my first title and be alongside those Americans with titles. It feels really good to be with them now.

In 2016, you reached No. 53 in the ATP Rankings and then fell out of the Top 100. How would you describe your journey to your first ATP title?
It has just been a lot of work. At the end of 2016, I just mismanaged my body and kept playing on an injury. It took me longer to come back and set me back in 2017 and I just wasn’t myself. But since 2018, I have felt like I have really done a good job staying healthy. A bit of ankle issues here and there, but [I’ve] been really on top of it. I am working hard and training hard. What I have thought about is 2017 was the off-year and 2018 is how I felt like I should have continued from 2016. I keep progressing forward and I am more motivated than ever to keep working.

Now that you have won an ATP Tour title, what are your goals for the rest of the season?
One of my biggest goals was to win a title and one of my other goals was to finish the year and be seeded for the Australian Open next year. I just want to keep playing well, I’d love to finish the year [in the] Top 20 and just keep improving my game.

What would have happened if Novak Djokovic did not have to compete against the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal during his career?

That is an impossible question to answer, and the same question could be posed from both Federer and Nadal’s perspectives. But while Djokovic was not always a fan of having to compete against two of the greatest players ever, the World No. 1 has grown to appreciate it. And he will look to overcome the challenges the two stars and the rest of the stacked field pose once again as he pursues a fifth Wimbledon title.

“I think there are a lot of benefits for the sport because of it. I obviously had not been so happy to be part of the Federer-Nadal era at the beginning of my career. I wasn’t winning many of the major events,” Djokovic said. “It’s a different story right now. I think I’m very grateful to be part of this era. It made me a better player. I’ve talked about this numerous times, that they complemented my game. They made me understand what I need to do in order to surpass and overcome the biggest challenge, and that is to win against these guys in a major event.

“I think the rivalries we have between three of us, and Andy [Murray], of course, has kind of highlighted probably the past 10, 15 years of professional men’s tennis. I see a lot of positives out of it. I think that the sport has benefited a lot because of these rivalries, all of us winning that much.”

Read More #Wimbledon Stories
Federer On The Big Three: ‘We Push Each Other To Greater Heights’
Nadal: ‘The Only Thing That Matters Is To Win Matches’
Murray: ‘I Haven’t Really Watched Tennis In The Past 12 Months’

Djokovic (15), Federer (20) and Nadal (18) have combined to win 53 Grand Slam championships. And the top seed will look to move closer to his great rivals over the coming fortnight, as he tries to win his 16th major trophy. He can also retake the top spot in the ATP Race To London if he emerges victorious.

The Serbian, who opens his tournament against German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber, is high on confidence, with a 28-6 record in 2019, which includes titles at the Australian Open and the Mutua Madrid Open. This time last year, however, Djokovic arrived at the grass-court Grand Slam in a far different position as the World No. 21.

“There is quite a difference. Obviously I’m approaching this year’s Wimbledon as defending champion, No. 1 in the world,” Djokovic said. “Coming off from the surgery [last year], being unable to have a consistency with the results, this was a huge springboard for me, the win at Wimbledon last year. That’s what kind of gave me that push and also a huge relief.

“After that, it was all upwards, winning Cincinnati for the first time, US Open. One Grand Slam can definitely change anyone’s career in a few weeks. Even though after winning 15 Slams, I still value these tournaments very much and understand the importance they have, the importance of winning them on my entire career, my confidence, my future.”

Djokovic elected not to play a tournament before Wimbledon this year, whereas he advanced to the final of the Fever-Tree Championships last season. But over time, he has grown accustomed to adjusting to grass after the clay-court swing. It’s only gotten easier to make that change as his career has gone on. Djokovic says there were no grass courts in Serbia when he was growing up, so he never played on the surface as a junior.

“I did struggle a little bit at the beginning, in the first couple of years of my career on the grass to really understand how I need to move on the court, how I need to adjust my swing and my game in general, tactically, what I need to do,” said Djokovic, whose first professional grass-court event was the 2005 Wimbledon main draw.

“I’ve always been a baseline player, but grass is the quickest surface in sport and very unique. It makes you come in more, try to use short balls and slices and chip returns. You need more variety in your game, so to say. Everything happens very quickly. I think this surface requires more hours spent on the court training than any other, really, to get used to it.”

In Djokovic’s four Wimbledon title campaigns, he lost a set in the first two rounds just once. So he knows the importance of getting off to a fast start at SW19 over the course of the fortnight. And it won’t be easy against Kohlschreiber, who beat the top seed at this year’s BNP Paribas Open.

“In the back of my mind, of course, I always have the big goal, why I’m here, trying to get to that final match and fight for the trophy,” Djokovic said. “The more efficient you can be, if I can call it that way, in the first week, the better it is. It is kind of tricky because you can’t really think about what happens in the second week. You need to balance it.

“Kohlschreiber, my first-round opponent, is a very good, quality tennis player on grass, or any surface for that matter. He won against me earlier this year in Indian Wells. You need the right intensity. You need to kind of be in the moment, focus only on the next challenge.” 

Two decades ago, Pete Sampras held the most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era with 14. Incredibly, three men — Roger Federer (20), Rafael Nadal (18) and Novak Djokovic (15) — have all surpassed that mark. And Federer, who enters Wimbledon with a record eight titles at The Championships, believes that they have benefitted from competing at the same time.

“I think these things don’t come around maybe so often. It also shows that side-by-side we can have incredible careers,” said Federer, who debuted at Wimbledon 20 years ago. “Funny enough, you always think somebody takes away something from the other. Probably we have. At the same time, we also pushed each other to greater heights.”

The Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic has won 14 of the past 16 Wimbledon titles dating back to Federer’s maiden major triumph here in 2003. Yet 14 years after all three of them competed in The Championships together for the first time, the legendary trio is still going strong. They occupy the top three seeds (No. 1 Djokovic, No. 2 Federer and No. 3 Nadal) at The Championships for the first time since 2012.

“I think we definitely became better because of one another. I don’t know if we’d all still be playing, maybe [if we] would have played in different eras,” Federer said. “But it’s been fun having us, from my side. I don’t know, I hope the fans enjoyed it. Because I think we’re all very different characters, they could like either player.”

Federer continues etching his name in the grass-court history books, winning a record 19th title on the surface in the Open Era at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle. He can earn his 100th win at this event by advancing to the semi-finals, and his 87.4 winning percentage on grass is better than his rate on any other surface.

“I still think it is very different. Maybe for some, they feel it’s not as far from hard. I think it’s still quite different,” Federer said. “I think the movement requires different talents or different movement. I believe also the way the ball bounces, the way it takes the spins or not, I think is quite a change still.

Watch Highlights Of Federer’s Halle Triumph:

“Obviously you can play better than ever on the grass courts. Every single year they get better and better, so it’s easier to play from the baseline. Especially I would say the first week at Wimbledon, it’s still a huge change to hard courts. The second week, it gets more similar. You can move better from the baseline. I think it speeds up a little bit more, as well. It takes a bit more of the spin. But at the beginning it’s still very soft, it’s tough to move.”

For the first time since 2016, Federer competed on clay this year. The 37-year-old achieved some solid results, including a run to the Roland Garros semi-finals, where he fell to eventual champion Nadal.

“I don’t know if I have a massive benefit from having played on clay,” Federer said. “I do believe it plays very different. Not only does the spin not take effect like it does on clay, but also the guys are not returning from so far back. Naturally everybody is much closer to one another.”

Federer opens his chase for his ninth Wimbledon title against South African Lloyd Harris, and he still wants to take charge of points and play on his own terms.

“So far I’m really happy I played the clay-court season. I’m happy I was able to adjust again on the grass,” Federer said. “I came through Halle, the clay-court season, French Open, without any injuries, feeling good. I guess I would be ready for longer rallies. But am I seeking out to play longer rallies because I played the clay-court season? I don’t think so.”

Rafael Nadal faces a tough draw at Wimbledon, with a potential blockbuster against Nick Kyrgios in the second round, and a possible match with #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov or former World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round.

But the World No. 2 is not worrying about the toll that difficult matches early on could take on him at The Championships, where he is pursuing a third title.

“The only thing that really matters is [to] win the matches,” Nadal said. “Doesn’t matter how, what is the score. So I just really believe that the main thing is [to] win at the beginning, of course, especially in my situation. Every hour and every match I am able to win helps a lot because I am playing well, I am coming with good confidence after playing a good end of the clay-court season.”

When Nadal triumphed at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010, the Spaniard competed at the Fever-Tree Championships ahead of the grass-court Grand Slam. In 2010, he had to battle through two five-setters in his first three matches, but ultimately found his best form to emerge victorious.

This year, his most recent event was Roland Garros, where he captured a record 12th Coupe des Mousquetaires.

“There are no two equal situations,” Nadal said. “I won 2010 I think here after a very, very tough first couple of rounds. Sometimes that helps, especially in this event, that you arrive here without playing much on this surface.

“It’s a different situation, different surface, so I need to spend time on court. I’m improving every day. Of course, in terms of a competitive match, on Tuesday [it’s] going to be my first match. Going to be a tough one, a tough start against a player who already played three matches here. So it’s a challenge.”

Nadal has been working hard at home in Mallorca. There was a women’s grass-court tournament there last week, allowing the Spaniard to prepare well on the surface.

“If I will not have this court in Mallorca, maybe I will do another story. But having a women’s tournament in Mallorca, I have the chance to practise there. That’s positive news for me because I can keep practising on grass and being at home,” Nadal said. “Sometimes that is important, too. Close to the family, close to the people that you love. Sometimes it’s tough to be away for such a long time.”

Nadal will now look to make history at SW19, where he is trying to join Swedish legend Bjorn Borg (1978-80) by completing the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double for the third time. And history is on the Big Three’s side, as Nadal (2), Roger Federer (8) and Novak Djokovic (4) have won 14 of the past 16 Wimbledon titles.

“Of course we have been playing so well for such a long time. That’s something unique in this sport because, of course, it never happened in the past that three players more or less during the same time achieved that much,” Nadal said. “But here we are.”

Nadal is not thinking that far ahead, though. In the first round, he faces Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita for the first time. That is the only player or match he is concerned with.

“I feel ready to practise this afternoon and to practise tomorrow. That’s my goal. It’s day-by-day, step-by-step. I have been improving every single day since I arrived here. I hope to be ready, being honest. I think I see the normal evolution,” Nadal said. “I play against Sugita the first round. That’s the main thing for me, the main preparation for me.”

Despite failing to convert four match points before rain suspended play on Friday at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya, Lorenzo Sonego quickly advanced to his first tour-level championship match on Saturday morning.

After resuming play at 5-5 in the second set, the 6’3″ right-hander completed a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory against Pablo Carreno Busta to claim his second straight win against seeded opposition at the event. Sonego, who began the week searching for his first grass-court victory, also defeated recently-crowned Libema Open champion Adrian Mannarino in the quarter-finals.

The World No. 75 will meet fellow first-time ATP Tour finalist Miomir Kecmanovic in the championship match. The pair has never contested a tour-level FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, but Sonego owns a 2-1 record against Kecmanovic at all levels.

Sonego entered the tournament on a six-match tour-level losing streak, dating back to his breakthrough run to the last eight at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April. The Italian did not drop a set en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in the Principality, before falling to eventual runner-up Dusan Lajovic.