🔗 Share this article

I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {