It has been a season to cherish for Taylor Fritz. The American star enjoyed the most successful season of his career, winning two titles in 2024. Additionally, he also ended the year at a career-high ranking of 4. This is the best ranking that any American player has achieved since James Blake, who also finished at the no. 4 position in the world rankings back in 2006. Behind Fritz’s rise, there has been a big role played by his compatriot and coach, Michael Russell. As the latter won a major award this year, he lifted the lid on his unique approach to coaching Fritz.

Earlier today, it was revealed that Fritz’s coach, Russell has been voted Coach of the Year in the 2024 ATP Awards. This came after he helped his compatriot scale new heights with his unique coaching methods. During an interview, he explained the process that helped Fritz improve his game significantly.

Russell revealed, “I’m definitely more focused on the process-oriented goals and just making sure Taylor’s getting more work in the gym and faster on the court, and just becoming more of a complete player all around. I think the results will speak for themselves and they will come. That’s been a focus that I’ve been on since the beginning, since we first started working together at the end of 2021.”

Fritz and Russell’s partnership began back in November 2021. Back then, Fritz was just 24 and still finding his footing on the ATP Tour. However, under the guidance of Russell, Fritz has gone on to become the best player in his country and is performing consistently on the ATP Tour.

Russell also played professional tennis before he ventured into coaching. The American coach once made an interesting comparison of his game with that of Fritz’s game.

Michael Russell and Taylor Fritz have different playing styles

The American coach played professional tennis for over 15 years before retiring in 2015. Although he played at the top level for years, Russell could never reach the highs that he would’ve liked. Eventually, he called time on his playing career in 2015 and ventured into coaching. While he was more of a defensive player, Fritz’s playing style is completely opposite. He likes serving big and playing attacking tennis.

Explaining the opposite playing styles, Russell said, “Taylor plays completely the opposite of the way I did,” while citing other successful partnerships, like Marian Vajda and Novak Djokovic, between coaches and players whose games didn’t resemble each other. It’s nothing that a little diligent scouting work can’t make up for.

After his retirement, Russell joined the United States Tennis Association where he met Fritz and became his coach. The American coach is well-renowned in tennis circles for having a poker face during matches and not expressing any emotions. With the ATP Coach of the Year award being the perfect tribute to his efforts, it’ll be interesting to see how his partnership with Fritz turns out next season.