🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {