🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {