Since his remarkable run to the US Open final in 2024, Taylor Fritz has cemented himself as one of the best players on the ATP Tour.
The American, who is currently competing at the Eastbourne Open, is aiming to become the first American man in 25 years to win Wimbledon.
However, he still has room for improvement, which could help him close the gap to the sport’s top talents, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Fritz has played the Italian and Spanish competitors multiple times throughout his blossoming career, and he recently weighed up which of them he found to be the tougher opponent.
Taylor Fritz says he finds Carlos Alcaraz harder to play than Jannik Sinner
Speaking to the Guardian, Fritz went into detail about playing the burgeoning superstars.
The 27-year-old explained: “I’d say Carlos is the harder opponent for me, but I have to add the caveat that when we played in the Laver Cup [last year], I ran into the on-fire version of him where it just feels like there’s nothing you can do.”
Fritz is yet to win a set against Alcaraz, losing 6-4 6-2 at Miami in 2023, before succumbing 6-2 7-5 at the 2024 Laver Cup.
It is a similar story with Sinner. Despite winning their opening encounter at the 2021 Indian Wells tournament, Fritz has lost four straight against the Italian, most recently at the 2024 ATP Finals.
“So even though obviously, Sinner has gotten me several times, pretty routinely, at least in those matches I felt like I could play tennis.
“In the Laver Cup with Carlos I felt, for about 80 to 90% of the match, I couldn’t do anything.”
The American has enjoyed mixed success during the 2025 grass-court swing, taking home the Stuttgart Open trophy after beating Alexander Zverev in the final before losing to Corentin Moutet in the round of 32 at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Fritz will resume play at Eastbourne on Thursday, locked in an intense three-setter against young Brazilian superstar Joao Fonseca.
Taylor Fritz matches Rafael Nadal’s grass court titles
With Fritz’s victory at the Stuttgart Open in Germany, he matched a remarkable Rafael Nadal statistic.
It was well-known during Nadal’s career that grass was his least favourite surface, evidenced by frequent shocks at Wimbledon and some non-participation in the grass-court schedule.
The Spaniard won his first grass court title at the Queen’s Club in 2008, before winning the famous 2008 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer.
He defeated Tomas Berdych to win Wimbledon again in 2010 before winning at Stuttgart in 2015.
Fritz, a three-time Eastbourne Open winner, equalled Nadal’s record after winning in Stuttgart. He will have the opportunity to eclipse this record if he wins his fourth Eastbourne Open title in June.
