🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow 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 previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t 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 insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {