🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none 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 storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {