🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those 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.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {