🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches 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 is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning 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 suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled 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 triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {