japan-open

Tokyo [Japan], September 26 (ANI): American tennis player Taylor Fritz feels that he could beat the world number one Carlos Alcaraz during big tournaments and Grand Slams as well, saying that once he does something, it becomes “easier for him to repeat it again”.

Fritz ended Alcaraz’s 13-match win streak during the recently concluded Laver Cup, representing Team World and beating the Spanish superstar, who was playing for Team Europe. While the 6-3, 6-2 win in straight games was not at the Grand Slam, it surely means a lot to him.

There are not many above the fifth-ranked Fritz, with Alcaraz at the top, followed by Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, the all-time record holder with 24 major titles. During his team’s Laver Cup triumph, Fritz took down the top-ranked Spanish star and third-ranked Zverev. However, it was his win against Alcaraz which stood out.

This was Fritz’s first win over Alcaraz in their fourth meeting, and he is also competing in the Japan Open in Tokyo. Alcaraz has been in a red-hot form this year, with a tour-leading seven titles and 61 wins, just four shy of career-high of 65 wins in 2023.

Speaking after his win over Canada’s Gabriel Diallo at Japan, Fritz said about his win against Alcaraz to Olympics.com, “I think for a while now I felt capable of it if the right things click and I play well. But I think just even last week, being able to beat Carlos and Sasha (Zverev) in back-to-back matches, obviously it is not at a Grand Slam, but I think that just does a lot for my belief that I can also do it in a big tournament.”

“I am someone who always said that if I feel like once I do something once, for me, just mentally it feels much easier to repeat it and do it again. And yes, it is not like we just played in the finals of a Masters or a Slam, but even so, I felt a lot of nerves and pressure throughout the match and to me it felt like a big match. I think doing that, it does give me the belief that at another time, I will be able to do it,” he added.

Fritz opened 2025 as world number four and had reached his first-ever Grand Slam final last year in the US Open, where he was swept away by Sinner in straight sets. He felt in good touch heading into the Australian Open this year in January, but was handed his fastest exit from a major since 2023, a third-round elimination by Gael Monfils.

Following the Aussie setback, Fritz suffered an injury and could only be okay after the grass season began, something he laments.

“I started out playing good tennis, but I got injured after the Australian Open,” Fritz recalled. “And I think that was a big issue for me because I tried to play through it for a while, and then ultimately, I kind of accepted that it is not good for me to play through it. I was developing bad habits to try to not have pain, and then when I took time off and came back, I felt like my level was pretty bad at the end of a clay season.”

“But I think since the grass season started to now, I am really happy with everything. I had a very solid rebound, and I think that overall, I’m in a pretty good position for how bad I thought I was at the beginning of the year. I think now I am pretty happy with it,” he added.

Fritz would be aiming to end strong, as he prepares for the season finale, the ATP Finals in Turin, where Sinner denied him the trophy in last year’s final. He would aim to surpass Sinner and Alcaraz, the two new golden boys of this generation, to secure a major title and become the world number one.

Last week, the 27-year-old showed that he could beat someone from the Big Three, and now the question remains if he could do it during a massive Grand Slam tournament.

“For me, the first goal and the main goal is to win a Grand Slam, and I think if I am able to win a Grand Slam, then that is maybe something I can think about afterwards, is trying to become the World No. 1,” the California native said.

“If you just go down the rankings, the next people are myself and Sasha. I see Novak’s there, but we do not know how much longer Novak will really play over the next five years.”

“If it is not going to be just Carlos and Sinner then yeah, there is only right now a handful of people that you might be able to contest. And I’m working really hard to be one of them,” he concluded. (ANI)

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