🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {