'It was more surprising than the loss': Steve Johnson shocked with Taylor Fritz's poise on Roland Garros' early upset

In one of the shocking Monday upsets at the 2025 Roland Garros, world No. 4 Taylor Fritz suffered a first-round exit, falling to Germany's Daniel Altmaier. The defeat marked Fritz's earliest Grand Slam loss in nearly three years, leaving the tennis community stunned despite the fact that clay courts aren't the American's favorite surface. Among them was former top-25 player Steve Johnson, who shared his insights on the "Nothing Major" podcast.

Johnson, analyzed Fritz's performance, and discovered an uncharacteristic lack of confidence from the last US Open finalist. "Altmaier was playing incredible," Johnson remarked. "He is very comfortable on the clay. He was just taking his backhand line, moving Fritz around, kind of just roadhousing winners, and it looked like Fritz had zero answers, which doesn’t happen too often."

What stood out most to Johnson was Fritz's demeanor during the match:

"One of the biggest strengths of Taylor would be his confidence and belief in himself in winning these matches even when he is up against the wall like he was there," he said. "Most of the fourth set it felt like he had really no belief that he was going to win that, which was more surprising than the loss if that makes sense. Taylor is somebody who never lacks confidence, which is a huge attribute to why he has been so successful."

Fritz himself acknowledged issues with his movement on clay, describing it as "really strange" and noting difficulties with balance and timing during slides.

Despite these challenges, he remains focused on the upcoming grass-court season, where he has entered tournaments leading up to Wimbledon, starting in Stuttgart and including the ATP 250 event in Eastbourne, where he is the defending champion.