Exclusive: ‘Confident’ Taylor Fritz ‘believes he can win Grand Slams’ claims 22-time major champion
‘Confident’ Taylor Fritz sees himself as a Grand Slam title contender, according to doubles icon Mike Bryan.
World No 11 and former world No 5 Fritz, the winner of eight ATP Titles across his career, has been in the best Grand Slam form of his life over the past year.
He reached a second major quarter-final at the US Open in 2023, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at that stage, before being beaten by the Serbian in the last eight of the Australian Open – his first-ever quarter-final in Melbourne.
Fritz then reached the second week of Roland Garros for the first time back in June, where it took two-time finalist Casper Ruud four sets to defeat him, before reaching a second Wimbledon quarter-final a week ago.
A five-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti may have been a disappointment for the American, who is yet to reach a major semi-final.
However, Bryan, who won 18 men’s doubles and four mixed doubles Grand Slams during his epic career, claimed that Fritz correctly has the belief he can break through at that level.
Bryan said: “He’s got a great coaching staff, and he’s really confident.
“He’s worked a lot on his movement, so he’s covering quite a lot of defence but he brings a lot of firepower.
“He thinks he’s the best, his head is very strong, he actually believes he can win Grand Slams.”
Most attention will focus on Fritz at the US Open, where he could be America’s main hope for success in the men’s singles competition.
However, before that, he is a part of a strong US team heading into the Olympic Games in Paris, with action held at Roland Garros.
Fritz is one of numerous players making their Olympic debut, joining the likes of Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins in becoming first-time Olympians.
And they will be able to lean on Bryan and twin brother Bob for advice throughout the Games, with the London 2012 gold medallists heading as part of the Team USA squad in a leadership capacity.
“It’s going to be fun to help the guys at the Olympics,” Bryan added.
“We obviously felt it was one of the biggest tournaments during our careers so just to see the excitement in all the guy’s faces when they are there – and a lot of the guys are there for the first time, so they are going to soak in the experience, which will hopefully drive them to try and make a run for a medal.
“Getting an Olympic medal transcends tennis and it’s really cool. We’re excited about it.”
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