At 27, Taylor Fritz broke new ground by reaching the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open for the first time, outlasting Jiri Lehecka, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5). With that win, he achieved a rare milestone—becoming the first non-European since 2009 to reach the quarterfinals or better at all nine Masters 1000 events. The tournament may have missed big names like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic, but Fritz showed up, seized the moment, and made it count.

Now the US Open looms on the horizon—the grand finale of the tennis calendar. And so, as the frenzy reaches Flushing Meadows, where Fritz could bump into Sinner and Alcaraz, he will have to find a solution to continuously break their rhythm. He knows this. Last month, the American confessed that “both generate a lot of raw power.” While Sinner has a bigger serve, Alcaraz is more unpredictable. But if you’d ask Nicolas Pereira, a former tennis pro, he believes in Fritz’s game.

Pereira, a former pro, joined commentator Steve Weissman and journalist Jon Wertheim on the Tennis Live Channel Podcast to stir the pot. “He works hard enough, he is moving well enough,” Pereira said while supporting his stance that the American could win the US Open. On the same note, Weissman shared he had picked Fritz to win Wimbledon. Soon, Jon Wertheim jumped into the conversation with his thoughts.

“There’s a defending champion who just won Wimbledon, who might have a thing or two to say about that. There’s another kid from Spain, but no, I think Taylor Fritz, he’s put himself in the conversation and that’s half the battle. He knows this, and Steve, he told us flatly. He knows he still needs to figure out that Sinner-Alcaraz rhythm, but I think he’s up to it. I don’t think that’s a crazy call at all.”

Let’s talk about Sinner and Alcaraz. The two titans have owned the biggest stages this year. Sinner grabbed the Wimbledon trophy after snapping Alcaraz’s 24-match grass streak, while Alcaraz grabbed a jaw-dropping five-and-a-half-hour win over the Italian in the French Open final. That marathon battle went down as the longest French Open title match ever.

Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, has been on his own rollercoaster. The 2025 season launched with a bang—a United Cup title for Team USA—and Fritz doesn’t intend to slow down. He entered the Grand Slams ranked world No. 4, stormed to his first Wimbledon semifinal, and made the Miami Open semis with some edge-of-your-seat wins. He sits at the No. 4 rank with 32 wins, 13 losses, and two singles titles.

His improvements shine brightest on serve. He hammered out 526 aces this season and has locked down nearly 80% of his first-serve points. That kind of serving power has made him one of the hardest players to break on tour. Factor in his relentless aggression and new confidence on the big stage, and you’ve got a bona fide Grand Slam threat. He is no stranger to the top guys, either.

Against Sinner, though, Fritz faces an uphill climb. Their head-to-head stands at 4-1 for the Italian. The last two meetings in 2024 ended with Sinner on top. Fritz’s only victory came at Indian Wells in 2021. And when it comes to Alcaraz? Fritz trails 0-3. Most recently, Carlos Alcaraz ousted Taylor Fritz at the Wimbledon semis this year.

Taylor Fritz reveals his game plan for the next slam

Fresh off his Wimbledon semifinal breakthrough in July, Fritz opened up about what drives him against the game’s biggest guns. “Moving ahead, I just want to keep working on the things that are going to get me better, that are going to help me compete with these guys because at the end of the day, my ultimate goal is to win a Slam. I think I’m going to have to at some point beat these guys to do it. It’s obviously a tough ask.” He’s locked in, learning and sharpening his edge with every clash against stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The hunger for that US Open trophy is real—he is chasing history.

Right now, Taylor Fritz heads into the National Bank Open as one of the tournament’s hottest contenders. The 27-year-old American wasted no time, ousting both Roberto Carballes Baena and Gabriel Diallo in straight sets. He also defeated Jiri Lehecka at the tournament. So he is feeling confident. With each crisp serve and thundering forehand, Fritz is showing he means business on the Canadian hard courts.

And now that the American completed his career quarterfinal set, he aims to “try for semis at all of them.” Well, we can only wait and watch. Andrey Rublev will stand between Fritz and the semis in Toronto–their 10th career meeting.