🔗 Share this article

I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, 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 number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, 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 lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {