🔗 Share this article

I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {