🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding the comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought 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 make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem 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 could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {