🔗 Share this article

I possess a few opinions about that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought 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 too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {