It was a year of firsts for Taylor Fritz in 2022. The American lifted his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy at Indian Wells and later competed in the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
Fans can now get an up-close look at Fritz's ascent on Netflix's Break Point, which premiered on 13 January. Before the show was released, the American spoke to ATPTour.com about the filming process, his favourite Netflix show, and his biggest reason for participating.
What was most surprising about the whole Netflix experience?
I feel like it was a lot less time-consuming, hands-on than I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to have to get used to having a camera around me at all times. But it was really just at tournaments here and there, nothing at home or anything like that. It was a lot more chill than I thought it was going to be.
Were you expecting it would take time to get used to it a little bit. Were you nervous about dealing with all of that?
I didn’t know what it was going to really be like, but I don’t think I was too nervous about it because I kind of just made the decision before I even started doing it that I was just going to act like it’s not there the whole time and be how I am regardless of what they’re filming.
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Were there any funny moments with the film crew that stick out from the year?
Not that stick out, but we’re always joking and I thought I got along well with all of the different crews that we had filming and stuff. It was a fun experience in general. I thought that we all got along well enough.
How did you balance filming for Netflix and focusing on your tennis?
It wasn’t much of a compromise. I just did what I had to do and they were just there. I wanted to be extremely authentic so there wasn’t really much of me doing things specifically for the crew asides from more of the interview portions, which were very easy. [We just did them at] a time that was convenient for me. Just give an hour, just talk to the camera.
How much did they like your physio Wolfgang ‘Wolf’ Oswald?
I’m sure they liked Wolf a lot. Wolf talks a lot and I’m sure he was always excited to just do whatever he could do to help them. Hopefully he didn’t talk their ears off!
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What is the best show on Netflix right now?
The Witcher. I’m really trusting [my girlfriend] Morgan that it’s on Netflix!
How about your favorite show on Netflix ever?
Probably Breaking Bad.
How do you plan on watching the show?
I don’t necessarily want to watch myself, but I don’t know. I feel like I’m going to have to watch it, but I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily excited to see myself or watch myself.
Is it more that you know how important it is you participated in this process not just for yourself, but for tennis?
I think that is one of the things I’m looking forward to the most coming from this, is hopefully a big boost in popularity and people caring about the sport of tennis in the United States.