🔗 Share this article

I possess some opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {