🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton 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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {