Taylor Fritz has been speaking after his opening-round win over Taro Daniel at Queen’s, previewing a tournament that is one of the sport’s most historic.
Drenched in legacy, the trophy itself stands high and mighty, and that only feeds into the many factors which make this such a revered and respected ATP 500 event.
With Carlos Alcaraz the reigning champion, and Andy Murray the greatest in its history, there are plenty who will be vying for this grass-court title.
However, Fritz thinks the winner could well be an American.
Taylor Fritz makes American prediction for Queen’s
Speaking at the event, the 26-year-old was short and sweet in his interview.
After all, the focus was mainly on Novak Djokovic, given the injury he sustained at the French Open was the exact same one that saw Fritz wheeled out of the exact same tournament in 2021.
Revealing what was said between the two, he was then asked what he rated the chances of an American winner at Queen’s.
The last from the US to win this event was Sam Querrey, some 14 years ago.
However, he remains hopeful despite the drought, noting: ‘I think there’s definitely a couple of guys who possess the ability to win. I think all the American guys are good enough and if they’re playing well they can win.’
Which Americans could do well at Queen’s?
As of round one, there was a grand total of six American players in the Queen’s draw. Now, on Wednesday the 19th of June, there are just four.
And whilst it was rather unfortunate circumstances that Frances Tiafoe bowed out of the event, forced to retire in the third set of his clash with Rinky Hijikata, others have been granted great fortune.
Tommy Paul and Fritz both welcomed easy first-round draws, beating Sebastian Baez and Daniel, whilst Seb Korda did well to overcome Karen Khachanov too.
Brandon Nakashima overcame Dan Evans, admittedly only because the Great British star got injured, whilst Ben Shelton became the only US player to be dumped out in a full match, losing to the exciting 20-year-old Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
The ‘couple of guys’ Fritz references likely includes himself and Paul as the outstanding candidates, when looking at the rankings at least, but Korda could also cause his own problems for many, having done well to overcome Grigor Dimitrov.
It seems that the strong US presence remains despite their collective struggles on grass, and should Alcaraz falter, the opportunity to stand up and take the throne might be too good to pass up on.
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