"He's become a real factor in majors" - American tennis legend lauds Taylor Fritz's stellar season

Tennis star Taylor Fritz produced some of his best tennis this season, which has led the American to receive high praise from compatriot and retired tennis great, Jim Courier.

Fritz made an impression at all four Grand Slam events this season. The California native reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the 2024 US Open, where he fell to a red-hot Jannik Sinner. Furthermore, Fritz advanced to the last eight at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, in addition to reaching the second week at Roland Garros for the first time in his career.

Aside from his Grand Slam success, Fritz won two titles this season and currently sits at a career-high of World No.5. The 27-year old qualified for the elite ATP Finals tournament in Turin, and has the opportunity to climb to World No.4 should he win his semifinal match against World No.2 Alexander Zverev on Saturday.

During an appearance on the Inside In podcast, Courier heaped praise on the American star. The retired tennis great claims Fritz's consistency across all surfaces has made him the clear cut No.1 American player, adding Fritz is recognized as a big threat at all Grand Slam events.

"This year has been a major breakthrough for him – literally," said the four-time singles Grand Slam champion. “This has been the year he’s become a real factor in the majors that he’s played in, to his credit. He’s really consistently putting himself into position.
“He obviously got outplayed in that US Open final. If you watched it, you saw that Sinner was able to do things from defence to offence that Taylor was unable to match. That will continue to be a difficult match-up, not just for Taylor but for most players on tour, but – similar to Zverev – if Taylor can keep putting himself into position.

“The guy’s improved his movement, he’s gotten stronger – you don’t have to question his fitness. Now it’s about maintaining what you’re doing well and making minor improvements on things.
“[He can] make that drop shot a little more fluid. That’s one thing that can be super effective for him that’s not natural, but practice, practice, practice, and suddenly that becomes a language you can speak."