🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {