🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {