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Taylor Fritz Explains Medical Timeout Ahead of Wimbledon Clash with Carlos Alcaraz: 'I Wouldn’t Be Able to Walk'

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Gouri Das | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 9:08 AM ET

A tough challenge awaits Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon semifinal, for he will be locking horns with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Fritz took a medical timeout during his quarterfinal match against 17th seed Karen Khachanov on Tuesday (July 8).

His feet were bandaged and after beating the Russian ace with a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) scoreline, Fritz brushed aside concerns of any fitness issues. Fritz, at the post match press conference, said his feet were bandaged to avoid abrasion due to friction while sliding.

It’s not a blister issue, but I wear a kind of padding under my feet to minimize the abrasion caused by constantly stopping and starting. Many tennis players wear this type of bandage, and sometimes it comes loose on me. I am convinced that if I played a five-set match without that protection, I wouldn’t be able to walk the next day.

Now that it’s confirmed that Fritz is not dealing with any fitness issues, he is expected to give nothing but his best in the semifinal against Alcaraz, who he will be facing for the first time on grass. The five-time Grand Slam champion has met Fritz twice, winning both those matches.

While Alcaraz is bidding to become the third man in the Open Era to win three Wimbledon titles on the trot, Fritz secured a berth in the last four for the first time. Wimbledon is the second Major event after the US Open where Fritz is successful in reaching the semifinal.

In the last two seasons, Alcaraz went past 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals. He is also aiming to complete the Channel Slam two times on the trot.

Taylor Fritz claims he has a chance to win Wimbledon

Taylor Fritz has five grass-court titles under his belt. Four of these trophies he lifted at the Eastbourne International where, this year, he beat compatriot Jenson Brooksby in the final. Another title on grass he won this season was at the Stuttgart Open by beating three-time Grand Slam finalist Alexander Zverev.

The 27-year-old is one of the five top 10 seeds still alive at Wimbledon (also one of the two players from the top 10 yet to win a Major apart from Ben Shelton). Fritz is confident that if he produces his best every time, he can win his first Grand Slam title here.

Grass is a surface that levels the playing field a lot. I believe I am closer to the best, like Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic, here at Wimbledon 2025 than in Roland Garros, for example. I know that if I play like I did today in the first two sets, no one can do much against me.
Taylor Fritz said at the press conference

If Fritz pulls off an upset and reaches the final, he could meet Djokovic, Flavio Cobolli, Jannik Sinner, or Ben Shelton. The World No.5 produced his best Grand Slam performance when he reached the final of last year’s US Open where Sinner breezed past him to win his second Major.

In the Grand Slam events before Wimbledon this season, Fritz failed to make a deep run. Gael Monfils knocked him out in the third round of the Australian Open; at the French Open, Fritz suffered an opening-round defeat at the hands of Daniel Altmaier.

Fritz has not yet lifted a Big Title since his victory over 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Indian Wells final. He came close to lifting the US Open as well as the ATP Finals last year but lost both to Sinner in the finals. He did not produce consistent tennis at the start of this season and managed to reached a final only when the grass swing started.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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