Taylor Fritz accused Carlos Alcaraz of 'stopping' progression of other Wimbledon players

Taylor Fritz is gearing up to challenge his own claim that Carlos Alcaraz is the barrier to his Grand Slam dreams as they clash in theWimbledonsemi-finals. The 27-year-old American secured his spot against the two-time reigning champ with a four-set win over Karen Khachanov, eyeing what could be his maiden final at the All England Club.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, breezed past Britain's Cameron Norrie in straight sets, eyeing a feat of winning three consecutive Wimbledon finals - something that has not been achieved since Novak Djokovic between 2018 and 2022. The Spaniard, who has already etched his name into tennis history with various records, is second only to Djokovic in active men's singles major titles with five.

With the pair meeting on Friday, Fritz faces the prospect of his words from earlier in 2023 echoing back if he falls to the 22-year-old prodigy. Alcaraz, who lifted his first Grand Slam trophy at the US Open in 2022, aged just 19, also became the youngest ever world No. 1 in ATP rankings.

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Fritz previously lamented how Alcaraz is "stopping" their generation from claiming major titles, especially now that tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have stepped away from the game. The world No. 5 acknowledged that Alcaraz's swift rise caught many of his contemporaries off guard, reports the Express.

It happened just as they were preparing for a changing of the guard post-Federer and Nadal era. Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas were tipped to dominate tennis, yet they're still chasing their first Grand Slam titles.

Speaking toEsquire, Fritz didn't mince his words about the challenge posed by the legends of the game. "I always thought, when you run into Nadal, or Federer, Djokovic, or [Andy] Murray, you're in trouble," he expressed.

"We've just been waiting for them to move out of the way. Now, we have this next wave coming in, and it's motivating. But, there's Alcaraz. I think Alcaraz is going to be the main person that's stopping us from winning Slams."

As the tennis world gears up for a mouth-watering encounter, Fritz's coach, Michael Russell, has shared his insights on how the American ace can tackle Alcaraz's dynamic play. "That's part of the intangibles that Carlos has, his ability to explosively move around the court and his variety," he told ATPTour.com.

"He's able to serve and volley, he's able to hit drop shots, he's got great touch, and he's also able to hit winners from a lot of different court positions. So you expect him to hit some amazing shots and the crowd's going to be entertained.

"But at the same time, if Taylor's hitting his spots on the serve and he's looking to quickly get around and establish his forehand and use those good targets, [it will give] him opportunities to finish points and move forward. Then that's providing challenges to Carlos and not allowing him to basically dictate play and how he wants to play."