‘I can play on that level’ – Taylor Fritz pinpoints what separates him from Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Richie Mills 14 Nov 2026 10:30 AM

Pictured: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz embrace, with Taylor Fritz (inset)

Taylor Fritz believes he is not too far behind Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Taylor Fritz believes he has occasionally been on the “same level” as Carlos Alcaraz, but the Spaniard’s consistency is what separates him from the American.

Fritz is enjoying a strong end to the 2026 season, with the 29-year-old reaching the finals in Lyon and Stockholm in the past few weeks, along with making the semi-finals in Basel and the last eight in Paris.

He was a point away from securing arguably his best win of the season at the Paris Masters earlier this month, only for Alcaraz to turn the tables on the world No 10 and win in three sets in an epic quarter-final.

Although Fritz has reached a career-high ranking of four and is a Grand Slam finalist, he is still a very long way off Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz, who have 12 majors between them.

The big-serving American has a losing 4-1 record against Sinner and trails Alcaraz 7-1 in their head-to-head. However, Fritz has run the 23-year-old very close in their last three meetings, but hasn’t faced Sinner since 2024.

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When asked what separates him from this era’s two dominant players, Fritz told Bolavip, “It’s tough to say what separates me from Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, actually.

“I haven’t played Jannik for a while, so it’s tough to say, because I don’t really watch a lot of tennis, to be honest. He is an amazing returner and mover and just such an elite ball striker, of course.

“With Carlos, I feel like there are days where I can play on that level, basically like I did in Paris, where I was in a position to beat him. I was on the same level as him in that match, so it’s definitely more in terms of the consistency.”

Although he has been closer to beating Alcaraz in his last outings, Fritz still believes that the seven-time major winner is a tougher nut to crack than Sinner.

The former world No 1 is known for his variety, power, and raw athleticism, whereas Sinner’s serving, defence, ball striking, and return game are, arguably, his biggest assets.

He added, “Playing like that all the time is easy to do when there is no pressure on you against such a good player, so I think it taught me to play with no pressure and an aggressive style where I feel like I have nothing to lose, and then I just need to do it all the time.

“I think Carlos is very uncomfortable playing due to his way of playing. He makes me more uncomfortable than Jannik, but Jannik will beat me more by playing my own game, which means that I feel comfortable against Jannik, but he still beats me doing it.”

Fritz, who just missed out on qualifying for the ATP Finals, will likely end his season in Stockholm, where he will take on Thiago Agustin Tirante in the final on Saturday.

After dismantling Musetti in the semi-finals, the 6ft 5in player will fancy his chances against the Argentinian this weekend. Incidentally, Rennae Stubbs believes that Fritz has to improve his net and transition game to win a maiden major.

And it seems the big American doesn’t disagree with her.

He said, “A lot of what I want to improve is transitioning, coming forward to the net. Also, one thing is coming forward, but I need to be able to generate enough power with the dead balls and make a good enough approach shot to come forward.

“It’s too easy to say I just need to volley better, because the guys today are so fast and have so amazing passing shots, so it doesn’t really matter how good you volley if you don’t come in at the right time.”