Current top-ranked American male Taylor Fritz celebrated his third career ATP title on Saturday.
The 24-year-old captured the Rothesay International title with a 6-2 6-7 7-6 victory over countryman Maxime Cressy. Fritz used a barrage of powerful first severs to get the job done. He won 54/59 (92%) of his first serve points and did not face a break point all match. It was the second title for Fritz in Eastbourne, with his first coming back in 2019.
Fritz will look to carry this momentum over to the All-England Club where he is slotted as the #11 overall seed.
“I played really well all week and going into Wimbledon, I feel good,” Fritz said during the trophy ceremony.
The American is having a career year in 2022. He holds a record of 25-10 and has titles at both Indian Wells and Eastbourne. Fritz enters Wimbledon holding a 4-2 record on the grass this season.
The California native broke through to the second week of a Major for the first time in Australia earlier this year and seems poised to continue to have success at the biggest tournaments on the calendar.
Last season at Wimbledon, the American reached Round 3 before being bounced by Alexander Zverev in a very tight four sets.
His dominant serve paired with his powerful, angled groundstrokes should set Fritz up to have a lot of success on the grass.
Taylor Fritz 2022 Wimbledon Path
Round 1: Lorenzo Musetti
Round 2: Chun Hsin Tseng or Alastair Gray
Round 3: Holger Rune
Round 4: Felix Auger-Aliassime
Quarterfinal: Rafael Nadal
Semifinal: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Final: Novak Djokovic
Looking at the draw for Taylor Fritz, I do favor his chances to make it to the second week at the All-England Club.
Lorenzo Musetti is a phenomenal young talent and would be a headache for any seeded player in Round 1. With that said, the Italian is 0-4 on the grass in his career. The power of Fritz should propel him by Musetti and through the winner of Tseng/Gray.
Round 3 against 2022 Roland Garros semifinalist Holger Rune is where the pressure will start to ratchet up.
Rune is a fiery competitor who can hit a blistering forehand when properly set. I do, however, believe the young Dane still has a ways to go before he is an effective grass player.
If Taylor Fritz can reach Round 4 he will start to play with house money, a scenario he has proven to be dangerous in earlier this year.
The American has wins this season over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Rafael Nadal while also taking Stefanos Tsitsipas to the brink at the Australian Open. He has proven he can play with the best in the world.
24-year-old Taylor Fritz is holding the American torch as the best player on the ATP Tour from the States. Now, he looks to do what many American greats before him did: Win a title at Wimbledon.
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