🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts about that comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {