Jim Courier has now predicted just how likely he thinks it will be for Taylor Fritz to beat Carlos Alcaraz and become the Wimbledon champion.
Arguably, this marks the toughest feat in tennis right now.
Especially given the record boasted on grass by this unstoppable Spaniard, who has just three losses on the surface across his entire professional career. With two titles at the All-England Club and another two at Queen’s, he actually has more grass-court titles than he has defeats.
So, Taylor Fritz obviously has his work cut out, despite oozing self-confidence after beating Karen Khachanov in four sets yesterday.
Jim Courier predicts Taylor Fritz vs Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon
Speaking on Tennis Channel Live, reacting to yesterday’s Wimbledon action, the four-time Grand Slam champion had to assess the upcoming match with America’s number one-ranked male.
After all, Fritz is confident of his chances of beating Alcaraz, with his fighting talk somewhat convincing.
With that being said, Jim Courier is not quite as buoyant, replying when asked if he could win it all: “It’s not likely, given who’s still in the field.
“We still have the three major protagonists. He’s going to have to go through Alcaraz in the semi-finals, and most likely, either Sinner or Djokovic in the final. That’s a tall order.
“Is it impossible? This surface makes it more likely for him. It closes the gap, because it’s so much harder, we talk about it all tournament, it’s so much harder to play defence on this one.
“He plays great offence. Defence is not his strength, but everyone’s defence gets worse on grass. So this does give him a better chance, but he’s certainly not gonna be the favourite.”
Carlos Alcaraz previewed his next match against Fritz, and seems well aware of the threat posed.
Lindsay Davenport praises Taylor Fritz’s Wimbledon campaign
Speaking just after Courier, Lindsay Davenport was full of praise for Fritz, who showcased immense mental toughness to ensure he did not let his match against Karen Khachanov slip away.
After all, he was cruising in the first two sets, yet inexplicably lost the third and found himself down a break in the fourth.
The American seemed destined to play yet another five-set marathon at Wimbledon, but knuckled down to overcome his opponent.
Davenport then said: “Yeah, I mean, we had one stage of the match. She had lost eight of nine games.
“He had talked about two previous heartbreaking losses in the same round. It’s so hard for mere mortals to not get their brain going, “Oh, this is gonna be another five-set loss. I can feel it.” But he was able to channel some very strong energy to get going in the right way.
“For the match, he served at 64% in that force set, 82%. So, as Jim was talking about, the cream rises to the top; it’s exactly what he did in that fourth set with an opportunity to get through to the first semi.”
It will take all his mental strength and more to beat Alcaraz in the semi-finals now, though.
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