Fritz’s coach sees a snowball effect heading into the US Open

“There’s still quite a few things he can improve — and he’s willing to do that. He’s very stubborn, which makes him a great player, but he’s also been more absorbent and willing to work on some things,” Russell said. “Going deeper in these events breeds confidence. Getting new experiences and seeing, ‘Oh, wait, my hard work is paying off.’ It’s a snowball effect.”

The memory that stands out the most for Fritz from last year’s trip to New York was earning a Grand Slam final debut by eliminating countryman — and friend — Frances Tiafoe.

“Feelings like that,” Fritz said about winning his first major semifinal, “are the reasons why I like to compete and why I like to play tennis. How good those moments feel.”

Still, that doesn’t mean he’s pulled up footage of that match, or any other, from those two weeks.

Not yet, anyway.

“If I feel like things aren’t really clicking, then at that point, maybe I’d go back and watch some matches, just to see what it was looking like and what was working for me,” Fritz said. “Kind of try and jog my memory a little bit.”