🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought 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 final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {