🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {