🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors 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 Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {