🔗 Share this article

I possess a few opinions about the comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. 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 seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was 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 ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances 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 one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt 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 divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {