🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {