🔗 Share this article

I possess a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, 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 service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {