Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the Big-2, but I'm a lot better player now: Taylor Fritz

Even as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner continue their flawless run at the 2025 ATP Finals, Taylor Fritz’s run at the season-ending tournament has come to an end. The American lost his round-robin match to Alex De Minaur on Thursday and is now out of contention for the semifinals.

During the post-match press conference, the American reflected on his season and discussed the present state of the men’s game. He heaped praise on Sinner and Alcaraz for following in the footsteps of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and dominating the conversation on the big stage.

Fritz called them the ‘Big 2’ in an obvious reference to the ‘Big 3’, the sobriquet used to refer to the trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. He was quick to acknowledge his own growth, referencing his recent three-set battle against Alcaraz at the ATP Finals itself, but added that there was plenty of room of improvement.

Now we're just in the 'Big Two'," Taylor Fritz said. "I think the difference is back when we had the big three, I mean, I'm a lot better of a player now. I think obviously if I play well, I can play a close match with Carlos Alcaraz, like we saw." "Yeah, I need to continue to improve. That's just what my focus is. Obviously those two are ahead of everyone. The draws are open when one of them... I mean, Shanghai Carlos Alcaraz doesn't play, Jannik Sinner happens to lose, something like that," he added.

The American said if a player had to win a big title, they had to beat either/or both Alcaraz and Sinner. He said his personal focus was on staying fit so he can keep close the gap between him and the two top-ranked players.

"But no, I wouldn't say things are super open," Taylor Fritz said. "If you want to win a big title, more than likely you're going to have to beat one of 'em, maybe both of 'em." "That's kind of just what my focus is on, trying to get healthy so then I can put in the time on the court to practice and improve and try to get better and work on the things I need to work on and to continue to try and close the gap. Yeah, that's kind of how I see it," he added.

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Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner move ahead at ATP Finals, Taylor Fritz bows out

Taylor Fritz at the 2025 ATP Finals. (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have booked their respective spots in the knockout rounds of the ATP Finals, while Taylor Fritz bowed out of the tournament in the round-robin stage.

Alcaraz needed three sets to get the better of Fritz, but came through in straight sets against Alex De Minaur. Sinner, meanwhile, has been a straight-sets victor against both Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger Aliassime.

Coming into Thursday, Fritz needed a win over Alex De Minaur to secure a berth in the semifinals. He, however, succumbed to a 7-6(3), 6-3 loss to the Aussie to exit the tournament.

Edited by Vedant Chandel