By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, January 29, 2024

Novak Djokovic has dispensed many lessons to opponents in winning 10 Australian Open titles.

Reflecting on his four-set loss to world No. 1 Djokovic in the AO quarterfinals last week, Taylor Fritz said he learned an important lesson: His quality of play is strong, but his conditioning needs some work.

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"I think the level was there, I think the level was pretty even for two, two and a half hours, but unfortunately two and a half hours was two sets," Fritz told the media ahead of the USA's Davis Cup tie vs. Ukraine. "After that, I struggled to maintain that level, so I think it’s clear that I just need to work on a lot of conditioning, a lot of fitness so I’m able to produce that level for four to five hours and not just for two, two and a half hours.

"It’s good to know that the tennis level can be there, because the rest is what’s easier to improve on."

Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty