Fritz is already thinking about Alcaraz: "He is someone capable of taking the racket out of your hands"

Carlos Navarro | 10 Nov 2025 | 19.22

Can Fritz avenge himself against Alcaraz after the final in Tokyo? Source: Getty

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Taylor Fritz started his participation in Turin convincingly, decisively defeating a tired Lorenzo Musetti. The American administered a good dose of chloroform to the Italian audience, silencing the Inalpi Arena from mid-first set with a good combination of swift plays, corner serves, and a surprising ball pace with his backhand, a key weapon to overwhelm from the baseline.

His first victory in the ATP Finals 2025 places Taylor Fritz in an unbeatable position. The American will battle against Carlos Alcaraz for the top spot in the group, a rivalry with some history that Taylor has no problem reliving. After his triumph in the Laver Cup, the Murcian "got his revenge" on the world number five in Tokyo and once again hit hard in the Six Kings Slam: Fritz has learned the lesson and will try to use the court speed to his advantage, aiming for two victories in the group stage.

Fritz made a good preview of his upcoming match against Alcaraz and reflected on the court speed at the ATP Finals 2025

- Great victory to kick off against a player playing at home

"It's the typical first match of the ATP Finals. A very important match if I want to progress and advance from the group stage. I was a little nervous at the beginning, and Lorenzo plays a very different tennis, using the slice a lot. It took me some time to get used to it. I was able to prevent him from breaking my serve in the beginning when he had opportunities. That's when I felt I adapted and got more into the match. By the end of the first set and throughout the second set, I played at a very high level."

- A great performance on the backhand side: have you been working on it lately?

"No (smiles). It has always been like that. I couldn't tell you, I think the backhand has always been one of my best shots. This week I felt, and I think part of it is due to the court, the conditions, which are fast, that I have a lot of speed to work with on the backhand side. I don't need to worry about generating too much; I can use the speed the court gives me. I felt very good overall, and the backhand has always been one of my best shots."

"The court conditions have slowed down, yes. If I compare what happened at Wimbledon, we played on grass. It's a lively surface, but the grass at Wimbledon, if you put spin on the ball, isn't fast. The spin slows down a lot on grass. One of the problems I had there, when he blocked my return, and I think it's something that happens to me in slow conditions as well, and I turn around and try to attack with my forehand, by blocking and placing a very low ball, it doesn't offer me speed to work with, so I have to give the ball spin.

In Wimbledon, I had a lot of problems when I tried to hurt him with that shot. And if you don't hurt him with that shot, you've already ruined your position at the baseline by moving to the forehand side. If my shot isn't good, he has the whole court to hit a cross-court forehand in case I hit the forehand down the line. This court, for example, is fast. When I sliced the ball, I was able to be aggressive after that shot and not suffer too much if my shot wasn't completely good. In other matches, he was able to neutralize my shots, I struggled to outplay him from the baseline.

- Next stop, Carlos Alcaraz

"When facing Carlos, it's challenging. The last two times we've faced each other, especially those two, he has played incredibly well. He has been very aggressive. In the Laver Cup, I was able to beat him mano a mano, in battle. I was extremely aggressive and could take control of many points. One of the adjustments he made from that match was to emphasize a lot that I couldn't do that. He tries to take the racket out of my hands. And he was very successful in doing that, both in Tokyo and in Saudi Arabia. I'll have to serve very well. If I do, no matter how the rest of the match goes, I can stay in it. Today I returned really well. I hope to return with a lot of aggressiveness, return well tomorrow, be aggressive, and try to beat him mano a mano."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Fritz ya piensa en Alcaraz: "Es alguien capaz de sacarte la raqueta de las manos"