🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {