🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {