Taylor Fritz sparks fitness concern after his latest performance at the Japan Open

Around this time last year, Taylor Fritz was coming off the back of a landmark first-ever win over Carlos Alcaraz, albeit at the Laver Cup.

He followed that up with a run to the Japan Open final, where he subsequently lost to the Spaniard, who got almost instant revenge.

His form was impressive, and the signs were promising; however, he ended that campaign disappointingly, suffering early exits at the Shanghai Masters, Basel Open, Paris Masters and the ATP Finals. It’s clear that he was ready for the year to be over.

This year’s Laver Cup campaign was not so successful for him or his team, as the American lost both matches he was a part of as Team Europe reclaimed the trophy.

And, to make matters worse, Taylor Fritz has now continued this struggling form back onto the ATP Tour.

A first-round draw against Jaume Munar marked a tricky opener for Fritz, but one that he would still have been expected to overcome. After all, he had won his last two previous meetings against the world number 57.

And, when he won the opening set on a tiebreak, it felt like normal service had been resumed.

Few could possibly have predicted the collapse that was to come, as Fritz’s physicality sadly failed him.

The match point made for particularly tough viewing, as he hit a limp backhand into the mid-court and didn’t even try to reach the response, which was a simple rally ball for a player of his quality.

His movement had clearly been impaired, and with no details on his fitness having emerged of late, it can be assumed that this is a new development.

We know that Fritz has been struggling with a knee injury for some time, but he had remained positive that things were improving in recent months.

This latest performance in Tokyo might spark real concerns, and given the struggles of many other Laver Cup participants, perhaps the hangover from the London to Asia trip is really taking its toll.

Or, conversely, the back-end of the tennis tour is once again proving to be a step too far for these superhuman athletes.

Fritz would have hoped for a deep run here in Tokyo to have strengthened his position in the Race to the ATP Finals.

After all, at present, he sits tenth, some distance from qualifying given the names ahead of him.

There has already been confirmation of Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Alcaraz’s places at this event, with just five then remaining.

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Ben Shelton, fresh from defending his Canadian Open title and reaching a first US Open final, is also almost guaranteed a spot too.

Flavio Cobolli, Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils and Daniil Medvedev currently make up the final four places, but there is still time for this all to change.

The Shanghai Masters and Paris Masters represent the final two big opportunities to make a late run for these coveted spots. Fritz will hope this fitness concern is just a minor blip, rather than a recurrence of a much deeper issue.