Alcaraz has an open secret that Fritz wants to unravel to continue dreaming of Wimbledon.
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"I know if I play like I did in the first two sets, nobody can do much against me ." That's what Taylor Fritz said immediately after defeating Karen Khachanov to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. The American is very confident that the level of play he's reached at this point in the season is almost unbeatable, but that 's saying something when he's up against Carlos Alcaraz , arguably the most in-form player on the circuit.
The Spaniard knows he won't have an easy match at the All England Club, but his positive feelings allow him to continue dreaming big. He has the potential to become the first Spanish tennis player to win three times on London's grass, all in a row. would allow him to extend his winning streak to 25. But to do so, the next season will require defeating a Fritz who is heading into the semi-finals full of confidence.
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Since the clay court tour began, Alcaraz has only lost one match , after losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final due to injury . Since then, the Spaniard has been winning every match, where he has taken on a weapon he has been specifically working on since the start of the season: his serve . The Murcian's serve has become a fundamental element of his game and the great secret to his improvement .
Having a good serve not only allows a player to dominate their games , but it also drastically minimizes the chances of suffering a break and also gives away free points that, in long tournaments, serve to alleviate effort . Thus, one of the keys to the match will not only be to see how Alcaraz dominates the game with his forehand from the back of the court but, especially, if he is capable of hurting Fritz with his serve and, above all, stopping the American's .
" My main change has been my serve . I started to feel very comfortable in the match against Rublev . Once you have a good rhythm with your serve, you just have to try to maintain it and feel good. On grass, when you serve well, You become more confident and calm, and you also help me think clearly . Feeling good on my serve gave me a lot of calm to play great tennis from the back of the court," Alcaraz explained after playing against Norrie. And he wants to continue with the same plan.
The problem is that he'll be facing arguably another of the best servers on tour , so he'll also have to make the American uncomfortable in this way if he wants to transfer the pressure to the other side of the net. And Fritz knows that "grass is a surface that evens things up a lot," so the world number five's goal is to play a long match, take advantage of his opportunities, and try to exploit Alcaraz's weaknesses .
To date, the two players have only faced each other twice, with the Spaniard winning comfortably ( the 2023 Miami quarterfinals and the 2024 Laver Cup round robin ), but a Wimbledon semifinal will be very different. The tension, the proximity of the final, and the fatigue accumulated throughout the tournament can all play a key role in how the match unfolds. The impact of the head on the pitch can be crucial.
Alcaraz is having a brilliant tournament, where he'll be looking for his 24th consecutive victory of the year, which would put him on the right track to win his sixth Grand Slam at just 22 years old . But to do so, he'll have to defeat Fritz, for which he knows he needs a good serve to make his life easier. And from there, he'll have to take advantage of his extensive catalog of shots and know how to suffer in moments of weakness to defeat that opponent against whom "no one can do much" if he's inspired .
El Confidencial