As the Italian Open 2024 reaches its quarter-final stage, several small and big records get registered. The good news for Americans is that Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul made it amongst the men in the singles category.
Taylor Fritz, in particular, became the first American men’s singles player in history to reach the quarterfinals of all three ATP 1000 Masters Tournaments on clay – the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Madrid Open, and the Italian Open. He went past another American legend, Andre Agassi, in doing so.
After Taylor Fritz’s emphatic win over Grigor Dimitrov by 6-2, 6-7 (11-13), 6-1 in the Round of 16, he sat down for an interview with Tennis Channel to speak about the match. He was particularly thrilled at his ability to bounce back from the second set when he felt the momentum kind of shifted towards Dimitrov. The American player was also excited that he has been doing so well on clay this year.
At the Madrid Open 2024, Taylor Fritz was the semi-finalist, where he lost to Andrey Rublev 4-6, 3-6. He had defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final. Before that at the Monte-Carlo Masters 2023, Fritz reached the semifinals too, where he lost to Andrey Rublev again by 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. He had defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals before that.
It is a remarkable achievement from Taylor Fritz. Andre Agassi came close in his time. Agassi won the Italian Open in 2002 beating Tommy Haas 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final, and reached the finals one more time in 1989, when he lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 1-6 to Alberto Mancini.
The 8-time Grand Slam champion also reached the quarter-final of the Madrid Open multiple times and clinched the title in 2002. So that year proved to be perhaps the second best year for the American legend on clay after 1999 in which he won the French Open.
Andre Agassi won after Jiri Novak withdrew from the final. However, he failed to cross the 3rd round of the Monte Carlo Masters in his career. That could make him complete the whole set of clay dominance.
However, Taylor Fritz is yet to win a Masters 1000 championship on clay as well as the French Open. This is why Andre Agassi will remain the greatest American men’s player to have played on the surface.
Fritz has a 74-50 win-loss record on clay so far (as per Tennis Live), having only made it to one tournament final on the surface. It was at the Munich Open this year, where he lost to Jan-Lennard Struff 5-7, 3-6. He needs to improve on that winning percentage of 59.68%. Andre Agassi, on the other hand, has a 146-51 win-loss record on clay. His win percentage of 74% is higher.
Clay is a surface which is difficult to master, and many experts like Paul McNamee have supported that ideology. To excel at it, Taylor Fritz has worked extensively on his mental strength. This also includes him ignoring his critics, who continue to wonder how Fritz has kept winning due to his minimal movements and reliance on playing from the baseline mainly. But he has an answer for them.
Amid His Stellar Form on Clay, Taylor Fritz Takes a Sly Dig at His Critics
Taylor Fritz’s amazing run on clay did not go unnoticed by Prakash Amritraj. The Tennis Channel presenter congratulated him on his performance and asked him about his improvement. To this, the 26-year-old American gave a cheeky reply:
Prakash Amritraj said, “13 Aces. 11 out of 11 break points saved. I mean we gotta be moving closer to bot status. Right? That’s a strong day and that’s on some fair slow clay too.”
Taylor Fritz responded, “Yeah! I mean again they’re gonna say that I’m winning too many points from the back. That’s like, that’s the rule.”
Prakash Amritraj, who was laughing at that point, said, “You can’t be penalized for playing so well from the baseline.”
Taylor Fritz removed his frustration in a classy way, albeit in the form of a clever dig towards his critics which makes a fair amount of sense. The current American men’s No.1 player has another chance to stamp his authority on the surface if he manages to beat 2017 champion Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
