🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {