🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic 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 sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, improbable 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. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps 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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t 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 does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {