🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {