🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions about that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {