🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men 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 enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz 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 usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {