🔗 Share this article

I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith 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 only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually 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. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed 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 looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {