🔗 Share this article

I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {