🔗 Share this article

I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps 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)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {