"If I beat Novak Djokovic, that's fairytale stuff" - Taylor Fritz backs himself for Wimbledon glory with bold prediction
Taylor Fritz recently gave a bold prediction concerning Novak Djokovic ahead of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The American is yet to start his grass season this year.
Fritz's clay court campaign did not begin well, as the American was knocked out in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters. His best result came at the Bavarian International, where he advanced to the finals, followed by semifinal and quarterfinal appearances at the Madrid Open and Italian Open. He looked to have a deep run at the 2024 French Open but was knocked out in the fourth round by Casper Ruud 6-7(6), 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.
Fritz recently participated in the ATP Tour's fun video session Grass Court Prediction. Many tennis stars, including Daniil Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz, Casper Ruud, and others, were asked about their predictions for the upcoming Grand Slam, the Wimbledon Championships.
Later in the video, Fritz predicted that he would have a fairytale story at Wimbledon, particularly against 2023 runner-up Novak Djokovic if he beats him in the tournament.
"Fairytale story..., hopefully me! I mean obviously to win. If I beat Novak for the first time somewhere in there, I think that's probably fairytale stuff," Taylor Fritz said [2:50].
Novak Djokovic has maintained one-sided dominance over Taylor Fritz by an astounding 9-0 lead in their head-to-head. Their most recent meeting was in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open, where Djokovic defeated Fritz 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Taylor Fritz's history at the Wimbledon Championships
Taylor Fritz hasn't had the finest Wimbledon record overall. In his first two tournaments, in 2016 and 2017, he was eliminated in the first round by Stan Wawrinka and John Isner respectively. He improved his performance in succeeding years and advanced to the second round.
The American's most notable performance came in 2022 when he reached the quarterfinals but was eliminated by Rafael Nadal. Given his decent performance at Roland Garros, Taylor Fritz will look to carry on the momentum towards the grass season and will eventually aim to win his first Grand Slam at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. However, he might not face Novak Djokovic at this year's grass Major.
Djokovic suffered a knee injury during his arduous five-set encounter against Francisco Cerundolo in the French Open's fourth round. Following that, it was discovered that the Serb had torn the meniscus in his right knee, forcing him to withdraw from the event.
Djokovic later underwent surgery in a Parisian clinic, which was successful; nonetheless, he is expected to miss the Wimbledon Championships due to his injury.