American legend, Andy Roddick’s predictions for the 2025 Wimbledon have mostly been spot on so far. He had previously predicted the 23-year-old WTA star, Amanda Anisimova, to be a real ‘dark horse’ in this tournament, and guess what? She has secured her spot in the semis. On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz is currently in pursuit of a three-peat at this iconic grass-court major tournament. Can he yet again win the title this year? “I think so, I wouldn’t bet against it… Carlos was the favourite at Wimbledon before Queen’s, and he’s the favourite after Queen’s as well,” said Roddick in a previous interview. But what does he think about Taylor Fritz, his semifinal opponent?

He cautioned against underestimating the American star. “[Taylor] Fritz, going into Wimbledon as the number four seed is a lot different than Taylor Fritz going into the French Open as the number four seed, where we’re just guessing on an entire bracket,” said Roddick. “Taylor is legit good on grass. He could easily be in the last weekend of Wimbledon. Don’t sleep on Taylor Fritz on grass.”

Interestingly, both Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz have entered this tournament following a few grass court triumphs. Fritz won the Boss Open and Eastbourne Open, while Alcaraz secured a victory at the HSBC Championships. At Wimbledon, both players have been forced to stretch out their matches in the previous rounds. So we might just witness another long match at the Centre Court on Friday.  But how many times have they met each other?

Well, Taylor Fritz has crossed paths with Carlos Alcaraz twice in his career before, and guess what? The American doesn’t have a great record against the Spaniard (0-2). Their first meeting was at the Miami Open in 2023, where Alcaraz won the match in straight sets. And their most recent meeting came at the 2024 Laver Cup, where Alcaraz defeated Fritz 6-2, 7-5. With that win, the Spaniard helped Team Europe secure the Laver Cup.

After the win, Carlos Alcaraz said, “It’s great. Obviously, we came here with a goal, to win the Laver Cup.” He broke Taylor Fritz’s serve twice in each set en route to a 90-minute triumph at the Uber Arena last year. Are we going to witness a similar domination for Alcaraz in this match as well? Well, looking at their incredible form on grass, this match has all the possibilities to go to five sets, but by the end of it, can anyone bet against Alcaraz when it comes to Wimbledon? Nonetheless, Alcaraz isn’t taking this upcoming duel lightly.

Carlos Alcaraz shares his honest take on Taylor Fritz ahead of their mega battle

Taylor Fritz is entering this contest following his 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) win over Karen Khachanov. With that win, he also secured his spot in the semifinal at Wimbledon for the very first time in his career. Fritz has so far won 13 of his last 14 matches on grass. On the other side, Carlos Alcaraz secured a comfortable 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 win over the home favorite, Cameron Norrie. Following that victory, he also shared a few words on his next opponent. 

He said, “He’s playing great. He’s been really successful: Two titles, semi-finals here at Wimbledon… I’m just going to be ready for that battle. It’s always tough to play against him. I will just focus, but right now I want to enjoy and live this moment because it’s really not easy to play the semi-finals here.” 

What are Taylor Fritz’s chances of overcoming this massive hurdle in the semifinal, though? Well, tennis legend Jim Courier said, “Is it impossible? This surface makes it more likely for him [Fritz]. It closes the gap, because it’s so much harder, we talk about it all tournament, it’s so much harder to play defense on this one. He plays great offense. Defense is not his strength, but everyone’s defense gets worse on grass. So this does give him a better chance, but he’s certainly not gonna be the favorite.“

However, Serena Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci, said Taylor Fritz’s game is well suited for this surface, and he can really have a chance against Alcaraz if he “serves clutch” in this match. Do you think Fritz can win this match? Follow the Championships in real-time with EssentiallySports’ Live Blog updates.