🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {