🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer 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 the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {