🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {