🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American 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 next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {