🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {