Taylor Fritz made history at the 2025 Laver Cup by leading Team World to a third title with big wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev. After dealing with illness and doubts all week, Fritz opened up about the mindset and tactics that helped him finally beat the world’s best players.
How Did Taylor Fritz’s Shift in Mindset Help Him Beat Carlos Alcaraz?
Before this Laver Cup match, Fritz was 0-3 against Alcaraz, which included a straight-set loss at last year’s Laver Cup and a tough loss at the 2025 Wimbledon semi-final. But on Saturday, he turned it around with sharp baseline shots and net play. The American even compared this win to his win over Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells in 2022.
According to Fritz, the turning point was holding serve in the opening game. During the post-match interview, the World No. 5 said, “I knew what I had to do before I came out here tonight; the question was just if I was going to be able to do it.”
“The other three times I’ve played Carlos, he’s broken me first game every single time. That’s not how you want to start against someone like him. Getting out of that first game was huge, and just playing a lot of the big points with conviction. I didn’t second-guess myself. I didn’t play too safe. I played with no fear on a lot of the big points,” Fritz added.
When there’s a will, there’s a way 😤@Taylor_Fritz97 | #LaverCup pic.twitter.com/yd37ZrkEfn
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 21, 2025
In their past encounters, Alcaraz always broke Fritz in the first game and dominated the match. But this time, Fritz controlled the momentum and broke Alcaraz’s 13-match winning streak.
What Did Fritz Say on His Recovery and Playing for Team World at Laver Cup?
Fritz’s past few days at the Chase Center in San Francisco were like a dream. The American pulled off back-to-back wins- first defeating World No. 1 Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2, then beating World No. 3 Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4) to seal the Laver Cup for Team World.
After the match, Fritz was asked about his journey throughout the week and his recovery from illness. He said, “Yeah, I mean, it’s amazing to just do it for the team. In all honesty, I got here, I feel like I had recovered, and I felt pretty good after being sick at Davis Cup. Yeah, I’ve been feeling good since I’ve been here. It’s, like I said, amazing to do it for the team and a great feeling to clinch it in the end. It really just kind of is like the perfect end to a great week.”
LAVER CUP CHAMPIONS (Taylor’s Version) 🔴🏆@Taylor_Fritz97 defeats Zverev to win the Laver Cup for Team World in San Francisco.#LaverCup pic.twitter.com/V3JjPRawZa
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 22, 2025
Fritz is usually known for his baseline game, but when asked about his net play and the input from coach Michael Russell and captain Agassi, he said, “I think coming to the net sucks, to be honest with you. This week I was able to make it work, and I think a lot of that is just more being a bit more aggressive from the ground. It just makes the volleys a bit easier.”
“I don’t know what happened on that match point, because normally that would be, like, a really, really tight volley for me, but for whatever reason, I was just calm doing it. Maybe that is them just being there,” he added.
Fritz played an important role for Team World under Agassi’s leadership, scoring five points in their 15-9 win.
