🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot 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 sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {