🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how 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 would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {