'That is the worst thing Taylor can do' - Sam Querrey on whether Fritz should alter his Eastbourne preparations before Wimbledon

With multiple Eastbourne Open titles already on his resume, American Taylor Fritz could be forgiven if he opted to skip the grass court event prior to Wimbledon. However, retired compatriot Sam Querrey believes this may not be in the best interest of the 2024 US Open runner-up.

The World No.5 is very comfortable on grass courts, having won the Stuttgart Open two weeks ago. Additionally, Fritz has prevailed at Eastbourne on different occasions, with three of his nine career ATP titles coming at the grass court event, in 2019, 2022 and 2024.

Skipping Eastbourne would not be beneficial, says Querrey

With Wimbledon kicking off next win, it would be understandable if Fritz were to skip the Eastbourne Open in preparation for the grass court Grand Slam event. However, Querrey believes this could be detrimental to the American's game plan.

"That’s not Taylor’s style,” said Querrey on an episode of The Nothing Major Show. “He has won it three times. Took me out in the final there for his first title ever in 2019. Taylor wants to go into Wimbledon off of a title in Eastbourne rather than just a practice. He lost first round at Queen’s, remember that.
"He would just be practicing for 12 straight days, that is the worst thing that Taylor can do. He wants to be playing matches and so he wants to go to Eastbourne and win that thing.
"A lot of players I think it’s hard when you win a tournament a bunch of times to skip it, you feel like you play well there and he feels like he is going to win it, so if he skipped it in his mind he is thinking why would I skip a tournament that I am going to win.
“I like the play for Taylor. It’s a little over an hour from Wimbledon. You can lose on a Thursday and then at 5pm you’re at Wimbledon having dinner at 6:30pm, so it’s very convenient."

Retired American pro Steve Johnson did not agree with his cohost's take, revealing his true feelings about the ATP 250 grass court event.

"It’s one of the worst places you could ever go to," said the former World No.21. "I hate Eastbourne! For me the weather is horrible there. It’s always windy. The hotels there are so incredibly bad. I have had the worst hotel rooms. It is the most insane place."

Regardless, Fritz will kick off his Eastbourne campaign with a round of 16 battle against rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca. The top seed will be looking to bounce back from an early round loss at last week's event in Queen's, as Wimbledon looms ahead.