Michael Russell reveals Taylor Fritz’s plan for Wimbledon semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz

Taylor Fritz’s coach, Michael Russell, has revealed his ward would look to back his own strengths in the Wimbledon semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz. Russell admitted that the Spaniard has all the shots in his arsenal and the American will certainly have his work cut out on Friday.

Alcaraz will definitely enter the semifinal as a favorite but Russell wants his pupil to hit the right spots on his serve.

“That’s part of the intangibles that Carlos has, his ability to explosively move around the court and his variety,” Russell 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.”

Russell wants Taylor to back his own game against Alcaraz and not overthink anything on the court.

“The biggest focus is making sure Taylor plays his game, and he doesn’t overplay or overthink. He’s such a strategist and he’s got a great tennis IQ, and sometimes he has a tendency to overthink,” Russell said. “So he needs to continue to play how he’s been playing. That’s why he’s been very successful these past not only three years, but more currently this past four weeks. He’s been so successful on the grass.” 

Fritz has already won grass titles at Stuttgart and Eastbourne and he would want to bring his A-game against the World No.2.

“[That] is serving a high percentage, hitting his spots and playing power tennis, big forehands and really [being] dialed in on his returns and looking to come forward a little more,” Russell said. “The grass definitely helps his flat backhand and it helps the shots in general, so [a key will be] utilising those powerful groundstrokes to try to move forward as much as possible, because [he is] playing Carlos, who is extremely explosive and agile, and he can turn defence into offence very quickly.”

Fritz will take on Alcaraz at Centre Court on Friday.