To win a Grand Slam, you must overcome Alcaraz and Sinner.

Taylor Fritz acknowledges that reaching Grand Slam success requires him to get past the leading players today, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Fritz expressed his belief that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will continue to dominate Grand Slam tournaments, and if he wants to claim a major title, he must be ready to face them head-on rather than hope for their mistakes.

Currently ranked 5th in the world, Fritz was the closest player to break the duopoly by reaching the US Open final last year before losing to Sinner. This year, all four Grand Slam finals have been contested between Alcaraz and Sinner.

After his 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Portugal’s Nuno Borges at the Japan Open on Friday, Fritz said: “I can’t just rely on them losing early unexpectedly. I need to reach a level where on any given day at a Grand Slam, I can beat one of them and create an opportunity for myself. They are always there, and if I want to win, I have to get past them.”

At the 2023 US Open, Fritz reached the final by taking advantage of early exits by Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. He defeated Casper Ruud (seeded 8th, 2022 finalist) in the round of 16 and Alexander Zverev (2020 finalist) in the quarterfinals. However, Fritz admits this is unlikely to happen again: “Last year, I beat the opponents I needed to to get to the final, but clearly that won’t happen often. To succeed, you have to get past one of those two.”

Fritz recently defeated Alcaraz at the Laver Cup last week and may face the world No. 1 again in the Tokyo Open final. Alcaraz started his campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez on Thursday, despite suffering an early ankle injury.

In the second round, Fritz—the second seed—faced some difficulty against Borges (world No. 51) but rallied to secure a spot in the quarterfinals, where he will meet fellow American Sebastian Korda. “I put myself under pressure by losing a break at unnecessary moments, but I fought back to finish the match at the right time,” Fritz shared.