“I’m back,” wrote a super confident Taylor Fritz after he ended a long wait this season in his ATP journey. Following struggles with the form and an early first-round exit at the Roland Garros, on clay, the World No.4 showed his true potential on grass in Stuttgart. Besting German star Alexander Zverev in the summit clash, the 27-year-old captured his maiden title of 2025, at the BOSS Open. And with that, America’s hopes for Wimbledon seemed to take flight—until they crashed. At least that’s what a compatriot and former pro has indicated while lashing out at Fritz for his ‘supposed’ overconfident approach. Why? It seems he’s still far from being ‘really back’ following a shocking result last week.

For the uninitiated, Fritz defeated Zverev in straight sets more than a week ago in Stuttgart. With a scorelineof 6-3, 7-6, he tried to make a point that his strength lies on grass going into Wimbledon. But just days after the BOSS Open glory, he ended up facing a first-round exit at the Queen’s Club in London. And that, too, against a lower-ranked opponent. Frenchman Corentin Moutet edged him out with a scorelineof 6-7, 7-6(7), 7-5. Considering how easily he won in Stuttgart, this match-up was like a cakewalk for Fritz, right? Unfortunately, he couldn’t really up his performance against Moutet.

That’s exactly what former American player Sam Querrey has highlighted recently. In an episode of the Nothing Major podcast, dated June 24, when compatriot John Isner asked him about Fritz’s instant downfall after claiming that he’s back, Querrey replied, “Taylor, you can’t win the 250 and write, ‘I’m back,’ and then follow it up with a loss to Moutet. Like, that’s bad.”

Querrey also emphasized the fact that “he lost to Moutet. Tricky, but what’s Moutet’s rank, like 80 or something?” (83 to be precise). It appears this pre-Wimbledon setback has lowered Fritz’s chances already. But guess what? Another notable figure and ex-American icon thinks the 27-year-old is still capable of making an impact.

Here comes a hard-hitting fact. In the past 25 years, no American ATP pro has won Wimbledon. Back in 2000, Pete Sampras was the last one to accomplish this feat. In the final battle, he defeated Aussie Patrick Rafter with a scorelineof 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2. It was his seventh and final title victory at the grass major.

Andy Roddick believes Taylor Fritz’s grass skills may shine at Wimbledon

During an episode of his Served podcast, 2003 US Open winner Andy Roddick admired Taylor Fritz’s grass abilities. He urged everyone to not ignore the 2024 US Open runner-up going into Wimbledon. “Don’t sleep on Taylor. Fritz on grass, I want to say, I’ll get this slightly wrong, but if I’m not perfect, you get the gist of it, I think. He’s won seven or eight times on tour, and four of them have been on grass. You know, he was a couple of points away from the semis, where he would have played Kyrgios.”

Reflecting on Fritz’s 2024 campaign at Wimbledon, Roddick added, “He beat Zverev in a pretty dramatic five-setter last year. And then, I was, at the time, shocked by the loss to Musetti, and Musetti has basically built on that and made it normal for him to be at the tail end of tournaments. But no surprises, Taylor needs this shift to grass. He would probably tell you, ‘I feel like I’m playing well, but I haven’t quite hit that results metric’—you know, the results that I’m used to.”

Fritz made his event debut at the All England Club in 2016. Since then, he’s played a total of eight campaigns. While he’s mostly failed to make consistent deep runs, he did reach the quarterfinals. And guess what? He did it twice, back in 2022 and then in 2024’s edition.

However, he needs to escalate his level if he’s hoping to clinch his maiden slam trophy. Before kicking things off at Wimbledon, the American will play the Eastbourne event this week. His past record at this 250-level tournament is amazing. In 2019, he won the championship for the first time.

In the last two seasons, he’s emerged as the defending champion, taking the overall tally to three. What are your thoughts on his prospects in Eastbourne and then Wimbledon? Let us know in the comments below.