#alcafritz

[carlitosalcarass]

carlitos always going for the hug

[tzschixel]

🇺🇸: When I had those easy shots, I hit them in both directions and... One aspect of it is he's anticipating well, and maybe he can kind of... just see by how I'm setting up where I'm gonna hit it. And I think there's also a luck aspect to it as well... You know, he's just picking a side.

🐶: I'm trying to be in his mind!✨ (x)

[michelsens]

Taylor Fritz Specifically as Reductress Headlines Pt.3 (Pt.2)

[itskubra]

So close, yet so far

H2H #1 : Alcaraz v Fritz

My fav side-plot of the year

Now this is obviously not the headline rivalry of the season, but it's one I have found the progression of really interesting this year.

With all the buzz about who will challenge Sincaraz, and Taylor as a contender for 'best of the rest' in most minds, their matches serve almost as a measuring stick for Taylor - a standard for how good he needs to be - but, especially in 2025, time and time again, he's come so close, yet he remains so far.

So why is that?

Lets take a closer look at why Carlos keeps coming out the better, why Taylor seems to be right there, but hasn't come good when it matters.

Wimbledon 2025: Alcaraz d Fritz (6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6)

The first thing I would like to say about this match is that it genuinely made me question whether I like servebot Alcaraz😭.

Taylor was very close to taking this match into a 5th - how?

Fritz upped the ante in this match by being very aggressive on second serve return and going huge on his own second serve. It's a strategy that goes against his philosophy against most opponents; don't miss.

It's very common to see Taylor readjust and go for less when he's missing a lot, especially against lower ranked opponents.

It's necessary to go big against someone as good as Carlos though, and it ultimately payed dividends; the big second serves allowed him to hold at 5-5, the aggressive returning allowed Taylor to break and take the second 7-5, especially with Carlos making errors from the back of the court.

A good deep return that rushes Carlos and prevents him from being aggressive on the +1, then Fritz goes for it on the next shot

In the 4th set tiebreak, Taylor found himself up 6-4 but lost 4 points in row and ultimately lost the match. Here's how they went;

6-4: Fritz hits a 1st serve down the T, Alcaraz hits a deep backhand return crosscourt. They hit backhands crosscourt before Fritz changes backhand down the middle, Alcaraz hits a forehand approach shot inside-out, Fritz goes backhand down the line, Alcaraz hit a forehand volley (stop volley) crosscourt and Fritz misses a forehand crosscourt -forced error.

5‑6: Carlos hits 1st serve to the body. Fritz puts a backhand return down the middle on the baseline, they exchange forehands, Alcaraz hits backhand crosscourt - forces the error into Fritz's forehand inside-out.

6‑6: Carlos 2nd serve to body, again Fritz puts a backhand return on the baseline. Carlos goes forehand down the middle, Fritz hits forehand approach shot crosscourt, Carlos goes down the line and Fritz nets a volley.

6‑7: Fritz hits a 1st serve down the T, Carlos makes a deep forehand return inside-out. Fritz goes backhand crosscourt, Alcaraz changes down the line and forces the error.

Game. Set. Match. Alcaraz.

In these four points, Taylor - the second most prolific serve holder in the world - makes his first serve, and he also makes two ultra-deep returns. And lost.

When asked what he would've changed tactically, Taylor says;

"The thing is a lot of the things that I would have changed, um, I think would have only helped me for a point or two and then I think Carlos would have just made an adjustment and I don't think it would have been a long-term, uh, answer."

Truly, that's what it felt like - Taylor doing all the right things but Carlos just coming up with goods, especially when it got down to the wire.

Their next match however, turned out quite differently.

Laver Cup 2025: Fritz d Alcaraz (6-3, 6-2)

A result no one had on their bingo card.

A first (and only) win for Taylor in this head-to-head. One that generated a lot of discussion.

Tactically, Fritz hit bigger than normal, and was ultra aggressive. He also came forward and finished with startling efficiency - for him, at least. It felt like Alcaraz was always behind the 8-ball.

It's what he tried to accomplish at Wimbledon - combined with the net-rushing, he had much more success.

It was also not a great forehand day for Carlos, which is the best kind of day if you're trying to beat him.

I personally regarded this match as an isolated event - a great match and result from Taylor, but one that happened in specific factors unique to this event, and in of itself, was not indication that Taylor was a newfound prospect for slam titles, at least not more than he already was.

Meaning, if Taylor Fritz is a Slam contender - which is a more then reasonable take on someone who has made a major final and makes semifinals - this specific match and outcome can't be cited as the proof of that.

I do still think this match has some significance however, because I think it gave Taylor some serious clarity on how to play (and beat) Carlos.

Which I do think he knew before - I think most players do - but actually getting over the finish line is still important.

A proof that he could do it and a guide on how to do it.

So, what next?

Tokyo Open 2025: Alcaraz d Fritz (6-4, 6-4)

With a one-legged Alcaraz as his opponent in the final, Fritz copy-and-pasting Laver Cup and beating Carlos again - this time in a more 'legitimate' setting - seemed more likely.

This did not come to fruition though, the main factor standing in the way of that being Carlos himself.

A big adjustment he made was taking his backhand down-the-line more often; seeing as Fritz has such a powerful and precise backhand, Carlos taking his down-the-line allowed him to create more forehands instead of being stuck in backhand rallies.

In the second set, Taylor began to feel pain in his leg which hampered his already not great movement. Carlos jumped on this weakness by employing the dropshot. Three times to finish the match is crazy work

Fritz was unable to recreate the Laver cup play but he certainly tried; he hit the ball with more pace and aggression, but it caused him to miss more (an unfortunate but necessary tradeoff) - a big factor in the break at 4-4 in the first set. As Taylor said; "Against Carlos, if you’re not perfect, you’re dead"

But was that it? Was Laver Cup just a fluke?

ATP Finals 2025: Alcaraz d Fritz (6-7, 7-5, 6-3)

This was Fritz doing a rather impressive Jannik Sinner impression.

It's yet another Taylor Fritz match that you leave feeling 'if only he had played that one point better'

He really did everything right - and still lost. Again.

His average groundstroke speeds were way up and he was consistently putting good, aggressive returns in play (Jannik Sinner-ing, if you will. Fr tho his average groundstroke speeds were insane.) The only way for Carlos to counter the aggressive returning, was with great serving - which he was nawt doing, his first serve percentage in the first set was 58.2%, giving Taylor all the chances to jump on his second serve.

And Fritz took advantage, snatching the first set in a tie-break and looked thoroughly in control.

So, what changed? Two things;

Carlos moved back on return

Carlos put more damaging first serves in play.

Moving back on return allowed him to make more returns in play, which is good for him because with his speed, he can recover quickly and stay in points. He can also make very good, deep returns from far back.

This really didn't come to fruition till the third set though - in the second, Fritz was still all over Carlos and there were 2 big points that perhaps if Taylor did a little better on, he would've come out this match a winner (probably would've served for it at least).

2-2, AD Fritz: Carlos hits a drop-shot, Taylor gets there and hits a chip down-the-line. Carlos throws up a lob which Taylor lets bounce before hitting an overhead. They have a backhand exchange before Carlos hits a forehand approach shot and finishes with a volley.

Now, I'm aware this is nitpicking, but small things matter. Although Carlos turned the point around and finished on his own terms, Fritz should not have let the ball bounce because the moment he did, he lost the upper hand.

We'll never know what would've happened had he taken it out of the air (he was more likely to miss), but it was chance to really put his stamp on this match.

Can i just say when after this game, you thought Taylor might get broken and he held in like, 2 secs, i was gaggedddd, like that was so cold fr

4-4, DEUCE: Fritz hits a great backhand return and gets a sitter from Carlos, right on top of the net, and he hits it right at Carlos, who hits it cross-court for a winner.

Again, did Carlos end up ultimately just come up with an impressive finish? Yes, but Taylor did have the upper hand, and his forecourt skills let him down, which was a pretty big thing in this match, with Taylor going 18/30 (i think, i literally counted) at net.

So many times Alcaraz would drag him to the net and he couldn't quite come up with the goods - though a lot of that was Carlos anticipating insanely well.

"I don't know if there's probably ever been a match where someone's picked the right side on on short balls, uh, against me more. And that's obviously why I say it's - it can't all be luck, you know. He's a great mover and he anticipates really well" ~ Taylor Fritz

And at 5-6, Taylor goes down 0-30, with a bad forehand miss and Carlos getting lucky with the net, and in that moment, you could feel the vibe shift - with so many missed opportunities throughout the set that you felt would come back to bite him at some point. And with a backhand slice to draw an error and a great passing shot (another net point lost for Taylor), Carlos breaks and takes the second 7-5.

In the third, at 2-3, Taylor misses a forehand and double faults to go down 0-30. Carlos makes a great return (standing far back) to draw a backhand error and at 40-15, hit a great backhand to force an error.

Just some little things, in big moments, that made a world of difference.

And in what were optimal conditions for him to pull off an upset (the fast, indoor court being the perfect place to try rush Carlos and accentuate his serving advantage), the result must be even more deflating for Taylor.

I've been intrigued by this head-to-head because of the 'narrative' of it all;

Taylor Fritz, a player who works so hard and dreams so big, who is endlessly disciplined, who is extraordinarily hard on himself, who does everything right, who has come close so many times, but still hasn’t gotten there.

Will he ever?

And getting a win in this head-to-head would serve as 'proof' that he was there, that he could do it.

But the question remains;

Will he ever?

Ok, that was very dramatic, but I am very excited to see what happens next year with them coming off the offseason!!

I've quoted Fritz a lot - He gives reallyyy good answers in press conferences so talking about him is quite fun and easy. Also there's this podcast i found he was on in 2022 and he talked about Carlos, winning Indian wells and lots of stuff.

[raddocanu]

omg him being asked who he thinks will win the sincaraz final. and him hinting at carlos….. the alcafritz/fritzcaraz of it all💗

[carlitosalcarass]

he smol 😍

[carlitosalcarass]

[tzschixel]

Fritzy a downward eye big dog, he's probably my favourite player outside sincaraz, on the verge of papa Nole retiring (am a Nole Goat truther anyway).

Despite the fact that sincaraz literally engaged in Torino, fritzcaraz still moved me. Cheers and screams for Carlos' win today, but it'dve felt okay if fritzy finally got this.

He played lights out to clutch the first set but still fell at the end, and he laughed about it when falling