🔗 Share this article

I have a few thoughts about the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {