🔗 Share this article

I have a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought 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 tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, 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 soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience 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 achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {