🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions about the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments 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 opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {