🔗 Share this article

I possess some thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest 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 worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {