"Taylor Fritz is good enough to win a Major IF he improves that area": Serena Williams' ex-coach on Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz's edge over American

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs has identified one particular area of Taylor Fritz's game that requires improvement in order for him to win a Grand Slam title. Stubbs made the eye-opening remarks after the American's loss to Jannik Sinner at the 2024 ATP Finals.

Fritz made a strong start to his campaign at the year-end championships in Turin, claiming a dominant 6-4, 6-3 win over Daniil Medvedev. However, the American failed to replicate his winning performance against Sinner, suffering a 6-4, 6-4 loss to the World No. 1, which slightly dented his chances of securing a coveted spot in the semifinals.

Following his loss, Rennae Stubbs took to social media and expressed her belief that Taylor Fritz's reluctance to approach the net and volley was hindering his performance. Stubbs asserted that the World No. 5's limited net play was the only thing standing in the way of him winning a Major title.

The Australian highlighted that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both excelled at this aspect of the game more than Fritz, which gave them an edge in their matchups with the American.

"Taylor Fritz inability to come forward and volley is costing him dealing against players like Sinner. I really believe Taylor is good enough to win a major IF he improves that area of his game. Sinner is SOOOO much better at the net, as is Carlos. This to me is the only thing stopping him getting those wins," Stubbs posted on Threads.

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Taylor Fritz will aim to deliver a better performance next in his must-win clash against Alex de Minaur. The American faces a formidable challenge as De Minaur enjoys a 5-3 lead in their head-to-head record, including a 6-4, 6-2 win in their most recent encounter at the 2024 United Cup.

"I think there's a lot of positives I can take, Jannik Sinner didn't give me much" - Taylor Fritz on his ATP Finals loss to Italian

Taylor Fritz (Source: Getty)

Despite his loss to Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz took satisfaction in their "high-level" contest at the ATP Finals. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the 27-year-old expressed his belief that while they were evenly matched for most of the match, Sinner was more clinical in the crucial moments.

"Yeah, I mean, I think it was a really high-level match from both sides. I felt like I played really well. I felt like he played well. I think there's a lot of positives I can take out of it. He didn't give me much. I feel like a lot of the points that I was winning and chances I was creating, they were off of me playing very good tennis," Fritz said.

"I felt like we were going back and forth. It was pretty even for a lot of the match. But he played a lot of those 15-30, 30-All points just a bit better," he added.

On the hunt for his maiden title at the year-end championships, Sinner will square off against Daniil Medvedev in his final round-robin match. Although their head-to-head record stands level at 7-7, the Italian has dominated their rivalry in recent times, beating Medvedev in seven of their eight most recent encounters.

Taylor Fritz will hope for Jannik Sinner to continue his dominance against the Russian, which would improve his own chances of making the semifinals. If the World No. 1 beats Medvedev, Fritz will need to down Alex de Minaur in order to advance out of the group stage.