🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {