Taylor Fritz builds his perfect player, picks Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, among others
Taylor Fritz recently constructed his ideal ATP player by combining the best attributes of Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, and Carlos Alcaraz, among others.
On Wednesday, July 19, a social media post with a graphic categorizing players based on serve, forehand, backhand, net play, and movement was shared, with monetary values assigned to each player. It challenged users to build their own "perfect ATP player" within an $18 budget.
Build your perfect ATP player with $18:
Choose wisely. pic.twitter.com/a7OZluJrNB
As fans began sending in their selections, Fritz also joined in to craft his ideal ATP player. The 25-year-old opted for John Isner's serve, valued the highest at $5. For the backhand, he preferred Zverev over the more expensive options of Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka.
Similarly, he went for Rublev's forehand over Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berrettini. Rounding out his perfect player, the American picked Daniel Evans' net game and Gael Monfils' movement.
While sharing his picks, Fritz joked that anyone who disagreed with him was unequivocally mistaken.
"Give me John serve, Rublev forehand, Zverev backhand, Evans net game, Monfils movement and it’s OVER … anyone who disagrees is just wrong," Fritz tweeted.
Give me John serve, Rublev forehand, Zverev backhand, Evans net game, Monfils movement and it’s OVER … anyone who disagrees is just wrong 🤷🏻♂️ twitter.com/thetennislette…
However, the American stated that the only alternative he would consider would be swapping in David Ferrer in the net play category, in order to be able to select Matteo Berrettini's forehand and Alcaraz's movement.
"The only alternative I'll accept is going Ferrer for 1$ to take Berrettini forehand and Alcaraz movement," he commented.
The only alternative il accept is going Ferrer for 1$ to take Berrettini forehand and Alcaraz movement 🙂
How Taylor Fritz fared at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships
Taylor Fritz's preparation for the 2023 Wimbledon Championships left a lot to be desired as he suffered early exits at each of the three grasscourt tournaments he competed in.
Fritz began his grasscourt season at the Boss Open in Stuttgart. After defeating Aslan Karatsev 7-6(4), 6-3 in his tournament opener, the American fell to Marton Fucsovics in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
At the Queen's Club Championships, the 25-year-old came through with a straight sets win over Bernabe Zapata Miralles before suffering a 4-6, 6-7(7) defeat to Adrian Mannarino in the second round.
The World No. 9 entered the Eastbourne International as the defending champion. However, he was unable to replicate last year's success as he was defeated by Mackenzie McDonald in the first round.
Consequently, Fritz appeared rusty in his opening match against Yannick Hanfmann at Wimbledon 2023, edging past the German 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a rain-interrupted encounter.
Fritz was unable to match his previous year's run to the quarterfinals as he suffered an upset at the hands of Mikael Ymer in the second round. Ymer secured a thrilling 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 comeback win over the American to advance to the third round at Wimbledon for the first time in his career.