🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {