Interactive Forum March 2016: Taylor Fritz

[stickman]

Joe Mccormick

Dosen't hit enought backhands... 30 thousand a month for 5 might years might work. JOE MCCORMICK. 2016

[johnyandell]

He does have the look!

[don_budge]

Taylor Fritz...

Amazing how big his game looked in Miami. I thought in the juniors he was a little awkward and mechanical. Even though he lost in Miami, his game looks world class big.

I watched the better part of his first set against David Ferrer. Ferrer looks to be slipping a bit but Fritz really "manned up" against Ferrer in the first set. I don't know how he managed to lose the tie-breaker. The serve and the backhand look to be developing at a rather unusually high speed. He looks stronger every tournament.

He's got the look too…American tennis certainly needs a shot in the arm. Hopefully this kid can give it to them.

[johnyandell]

Amazing how big his game looked in Miami. I thought in the juniors he was a little awkward and mechanical. Even though he lost in Miami, his game looks world class big.

[nickw]

Any thoughts on the body turn and left arm stretch on his forehand? I think it could come across more.

Yes, I'd agree with that John. Like the backhand, it might well be different/improved right now, will be interesting if you get a chance to film him this year.

[nickw]

Most noticeable thing for me is the backhand not looking great, the turn stops way too short, and then the racket head bends back at the start of the hitting phase, one of the backhand types I identified in my backhand 1-2 rhythm article as being inferior and very rare on the pro tour.

But I was puzzled, because I watched the Memphis final, and remember being quite impressed with his backhand, so I had a closer look when he played Tiafoe last week. Sure enough the 1-2 rhythm was excellent, still maybe not getting full rotation in the set-up, but the set-up much smoother, and the racket wasn't flipping back behind his body at the start of part 2.

So for me, he's definitely improved his backhand since this was filmed, and it would be interesting to know how conscious an effort it was, or perhaps it's ironed itself out in response to the faster pace at pro level compared to juniors. Still, his technique remains solid on slower balls, so my feeling is he's definitely worked on it.

[johnyandell]

Any thoughts on the body turn and left arm stretch on his forehand? I think it could come across more.

Two-hander is bent straight!

[drsous70]

Doing well

There would not be many players inside the top 100 at 18 and this guys body still has a lot of growing to do strength wise. It's hard to tell how the shots are going from this angle but stroke wise and movement wise he looks great. A small thing is that his split steps are very high where as many players try to stay off the ground less time. However he gets a good bounce and push off this which some players need to be a bit more explosive on.
I would say he has a good future ahead of him and the challenge will be to continue to build his strength while maintaining speed and change of direction.
I look forward to watching his rise up the rankings.

[lobndropshot]

I got to see him in the AO. I was impressed but he need to beef up his 2nd serve.

[klacr]

Reminds me of Sam Querrey. Fortunately or unfortunately. Southern California kid, laid back demeanor, tall and lanky, big forehand swat, double handed backhand. His rise is no doubt impressive but has a good 6-7 years to fully develop and get even better and grow into his body. Top 20? Sure, but only when this current generation of players bows out. Time is on his side. I hope his body holds up.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[curiosity]

His serving form is excellent. His forehand is pure contemporary, except that he uses a full Western grip. He prepares, though, with a version of an eastern forehand, shifting to the western as he takes the racket back.

His use (amount and timing) of ISR into the hit is excellent, and your short clip makes that very easy to measure (in the QuickTime version).

Obviously his potential is great because he already has very good strokes and is capable of very good timing, but has room to grow in strength, conditioning, and strategy.

I'm not a good judge of two-handed BH's, so I'm interested to read other views on it.

I've watched him in two matches. He has a very cool head.

[johnyandell]

Quicktime version

Taylor Fritz

[johnyandell]

Taylor Fritz


I have filmed Taylor a few times at the Easter Bowl and it’s amazing to see his success and his progress on the tour. Still only 18, he is currently 81 in the world and got to the final of Memphis! Here is a look at his game.

Thoughts please! On his game and his potential.