🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

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 third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. 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.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {