Andy Roddick, despite his struggles at Roland Garros throughout his career, is backing a fellow American to enjoy a deep run in the competition.
Kickstarting in just a week’s time, the legendary tournament is expected to be an enthralling one, but also one severely weakened by the injuries sustained across the tour.
In fact, the former world number one was left stunned by the weakness of the draw, detailing Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s respective struggles, and the injuries being carried by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
So, with this power vacuum opening up in Paris, Roddick is boldly backing one of his compatriots to step up and assume control.
Andy Roddick predicts one American to go deep at the French Open
Speaking to Tennis Channel, he had already reviewed the odds for a select few players to win the tournament.
Combing over the favourites, he was left confused as to how a few had been omitted despite their respective form and proficiency on this highly specialised surface.
One such name was Taylor Fritz, who is enjoying a fine bout of form on clay having struggled in recent years.
Roddick detailed the 26-year-old as one dark horse for Roland Garros, noting: ‘Also those odds, Medvedev, Rublev, Ruud. They would all like a word. Claylor [Taylor] Fritz. Listen, you’ve got to put him in that conversation if you’re showing some of these guys.
‘Opportunity knocking for a lot of names that normally maybe you wouldn’t think of as near the top of the favourites list.’
Taylor Fritz is thriving on clay at the moment
Set to face Grigor Dimitrov tomorrow in what promises to be a mouth-watering clash in Rome, Fritz has been thriving ever since the clay-court season came around.
A first-round exit in Monte Carlo does little to support that claim, but then going on to reach the final in Munich marked a fine run before losing to the eventual winner of the Madrid Open, Andrey Rublev, in the semi-finals.
Having now been presented with the chance to reach the quarter-finals of another Masters 1000 event with a win over the Bulgarian, this return to form has been impressive and wholly unforeseen from the American number one.
What makes this even more shocking is how his performances have differed from years gone by, having already won nine and lost just three on the surface in 2024.
For comparison, last year he won 11 but lost six, and the year before that he won just five whilst losing three.
His current 66.6% win rate is his best return on clay since 2015, and therefore justifies his inclusion as a real threat for Roland Garros.
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