🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts about that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith 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 only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork 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 serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {