🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

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 forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {