🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four 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 might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {