Taylor Fritz won’t pick a side in Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz debate at US Open

NEW YORK—Fan discourse surrounding the growing rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz could reach a fever pitch at the 2025 US Open.

Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last seven Grand Slam titles and have faced off in the last two major finals, splitting wins at Roland Garros (Alcaraz) and Wimbledon (Sinner), respectively. The No. 1 ranking is also on the line at the Open, with Sinner defending his US Open title but Alcaraz able to leapfrog the Italian with a strong result at Flushing Meadows—all contributing to a fairly intense narrative at the forefront of the men’s singles tournament.

Taylor Fritz politely asked to be excused from the “Sincaraz” narrative on Sunday when the American was asked to predict which of Sinner or Alcaraz would ultimately have a better career.

“You're trying to get me absolutely roasted by one of their fan bases,” Fritz said with a laugh after a first-round victory over countryman Emilio Nava. “You don't win. You can't win with this answer.

“I really don't know,” he added more thoughtfully. “It's impossible, impossible to say. I think Jannik and his results have been more consistent, but I think the high end of Carlos is, like, probably the highest level that you're going to see when Carlos is on.

“So don't make me get just destroyed by one of their fan [bases] ... I'm good!”

Fritz is looking to carve his own space in the US Open narrative this year, the No. 4 seed aiming to go one match better than his runner-up finish in 2024.

I think Jannik and his results have been more consistent, but I think the high end of Carlos is, like, probably the highest level that you're going to see when Carlos is on. Taylor Fritz

“Yeah, for me, it's not necessarily about the results,” Fritz said of her career rise. “It's about how I feel like I'm, I guess, playing. You know, I would take more confidence from, I guess, my run on the grass courts this year than maybe the US Open last year, because I felt like I was playing a higher level, in my opinion, during the whole grass swing this year than maybe when I made the run here.

“At the same time, I take a lot of confidence from the run here, because I can have a result where I make it that deep in a Slam feeling like I'm not playing incredible, I'm playing well but not, you know, as well as I know I can be playing.

“So, you know, I'd say, like, end of last year, World Tour Finals, was huge. I thought I was playing some of my absolute best tennis then. And then, yeah, at Wimbledon this year, Indian Wells that year, I think I judge it more off of how I feel I'm hitting the ball in practice and playing, not so much off of the results, I guess.”

In the opposite half of the draw from Sinner, Fritz can’t face Alcaraz until the semifinals, where he narrowly lost to the Spaniard at Wimbledon. Set to face either Sebastian Baez or Lloyd Harris in the second round, the 27-year-old has at least four more rounds to find the kind of form to challenge the two best players on tour in Flushing Meadows.