🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind 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 world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters 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 is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating 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 beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles 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.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist 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 Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {