🔗 Share this article

I have a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {