Taylor Fritz is playing a good season, in which he has proved to be one of the main alternatives to top players. The American ace is certainly inferior to champions like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, especially when playing away from hard courts. Despite still improving technically and mentally, Fritz took the satisfaction of reaching his first Grand Slam final at the US Open, but was defeated in three sets by the current world number 1 Sinner.
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Taylor had shown up to the match with great confidence, having always found himself well in matches against the Italian ace for his style of play. The remarkable improvements made by the 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria over the past twelve months have made a difference in the US Open final, despite the New York crowd trying to support their player.
The 2022 Indian Wells champion had a good reaction only in the third set, when the situation was now compromised, but he failed to capitalize on the chance and surrendered in three sets to an objectively stronger rival than him. Fritz was defeated by Alcaraz in the decisive match at the Laver Cup and by Nole Djokovic in the semifinal of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, but he took away the satisfaction of defeating Alexander Zverev three times in a row in 2024 (at Wimbledon, US Open and Laver Cup). The feeling is that Taylor has the right weapons to win a Major title in the future, but he needs an extra step from the technical and mental point of view to be able to achieve this feat.
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Fritz gets blonde hair
Meanwhile, the current World No.6 who will play the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 next week decided to change his look and get blonde hair, like Roger Federer at the beginning of his career. Fans are curious to see if this choice will bring them luck in the last part of the season.
Speaking with Tennis Channel, the American ace explained why it is so difficult to face Sinner and Alcaraz: I mean, one thing both of those guys do really well is just they I mean their defence is incredible. I think more so though, their defence is amazing but they dont really play that much defence. Their defence is like, you know, when theyre full, on the run, out of the corners, they just crush the ball.
I guess a good example is like I can be a backhand cross rally with either one of them. If I get around one, pull a forehand inside in or pull back in line its got to be so good or else the next one is just getting like drilled huge cross court and they just play these lateral baseline points like I mean these crazy points that you see like Nadal, Fed mostly you see like Nadal and Novak have these long points corner to corner, but like when Sinner and Alcaraz do it I swear theyre the same but hitting the ball 10pmh faster. Its crazy.
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The rivalry between Jannik and Carlitos has grown further in 2024, as these two young champions split the four Grand Slam titles played this year. Fritz has not yet reached the level of these two formidable champions, but he is determined to practice hard to improve his game and be even more competitive next season.
The tribute to Rafa
Recently, the 2024 US Open finalist also reflected on Rafael Nadals upcoming retirement. The 22-time Grand Slam champion will play the last event of his career at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month. The Spaniard made tennis history and will leave a great void in this sport given his huge class.
Many people were expecting his retirement to be announced, said Fritz in a recent interview. I was very surprised that it was during the Davis Cup. Many were expecting it at Roland Garros, Madrid, or Barcelona. He has been trying to recover for a long time, and the fact that his retirement is happening during the Davis Cup just shows that he has been trying to play for a long time.
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I have been very lucky to have played against Rafa a couple of times, in his last full year playing with a relatively solid schedule. I grew up watching Rafa. He and Roger Federer dominated the sport, and it has been an honour to play at the same time as someone I watched on TV when I was a little kid. So, it has been an honour to play with him its the end of an era.
