🔗 Share this article

I have a few thoughts about the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {