🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous 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 use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {