🔗 Share this article

I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated 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, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {