🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant 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 in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, 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 defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest 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 American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {