🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last 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 far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter 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 playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest 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 appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions 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. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• 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 dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {