🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {