🔗 Share this article

I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final 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 conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {