🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 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 is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {