The American number one Taylor Fritz is up and running for the new season as he is all set to participate in the United Cup. Fritz’s first match in the tournament is on Sunday when he will go head-to-head against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in what promises to be a crackerjack of an encounter. But how did Fritz fare last season? Well, he had an amazing year as he won the Eastbourne International, and Delray Beach Open, and reached the US Open final, apart from achieving a career-high ranking of 4 for the first time. Despite the overall success though, the American failed to add a Grand Slam title to his tally. Has Fritz changed anything in his approach during the off-season to go one step further and win that elusive slam in 2025?

Fritz naturally spent the off-season like a holiday as he shared a glimpse of the early Christmas celebration with his son on Instagram before flying to Australia. The 27-year-old also shared glimpses of his workout session, captioning “Smiling through the offseason pain.” By his own admission though, Fritz strategically limited his workout during the off-season before the season opener in Australia. But less can sometimes be more.

“I think as I’ve gotten a bit older, it’s not so much about, like, absolutely killing myself as much as I can in the off-season. It’s about training but still feeling recharged and ready to go and very motivated to come back out and be ready to play in Australia. I feel like it’s kind of about finding the balance between working as much as I can but still not almost burning myself out just so I’m feeling good coming here,” Fritz said in the press conference ahead of the start of the United Cup.

He further added, “I’m not sure. It’s changing every year I guess, like the expectations. I’d like to start out with a solid week in here, get some good matches. Obviously, the main focus is going to be the Australian Open. Hopefully a deep run at the slams. That’s like my main goal all year long is the big results at the slams.”

Despite the motivation to play Down Under, what exactly is Fritz’s record in the Australian Open? Over the past nine seasons, he has consistently struggled to progress beyond the quarterfinals in Melbourne. After three losses in the third round and one in the fourth round, Fritz’s performance at the 2024 Australian Open marked his best run in the tournament yet, as he reached the quarterfinal before getting beaten by Novak Djokovic in a four-setter by 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, and 6-3. 

In 2024, Fritz’s consistent performances earned him significant attention and his best position in the world rankings. However, his failure to win major titles put him under scrutiny as well.

‘Athletically he doesn’t seem to be at the same level as the guys that we are talking about’- Former tennis pro’s raw opinion on Fritz

Despite the fact that he played extraordinary tennis for most parts of the year, Fritz could not convert two back-to-back final appearances into victory towards the end of the season, as he lost to Jannik Sinner in the US Open final, and then again in the final of the year-ending ATP Finals. These consistent losses against Sinner caught the eye of the former ATP pro Jimmy Arias, who didn’t mince his words while analyzing Fritz’s game.

“Well, obviously the thing with him its a bit strange. Athletically, he doesn’t seem to be at the same level as the guys (Alcaraz and Sinner) that we are talking about. Having said that, his movement has improved remarkably from when I first saw him when he first played in the tour as 18 years old. I remember thinking he’s got a big four-hand, a big backhand, and a big serve, hits the ball clean as you like, but he’s never gonna be athletic enough to really get to the very top of the game. He’s gotten very close to the very top of the game and now I think that the form he’s going, it’s hurting him in some ways as he’s pretty stubborn and he’s also very confident,” Arias said while speaking on the KickServe Radio podcast. 

He further added, “He believes he can beat these guys (Alcaraz and Sinner) playing the style he plays from the back of the court and he hasn’t embraced that his mid-court game and his volley game aren’t up to the level that needed to be. And until he accepts that he needs to be able to volley a little bit better, needs to take the short ball early come in, and be confident enough to the net, its going to be difficult for him to beat those couple of players.” 

Fritz will want to prove his critics wrong with a dominant run at the Australian Open. But before he gets to Melbourne, he will want to create a little bit of momentum for himself with some strong performances at the United Cup as well. Can he help America lift the United Cup title? What do you think?