🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly 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 placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, 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 winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {