🔗 Share this article

I have some opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace 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 opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive 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 July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic 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 make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz 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 asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {