🔗 Share this article

I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. 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 rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. 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 playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, 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 American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, 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 seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {