🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning 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 agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {