🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into 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 sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {