🔗 Share this article

I have some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open 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 career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {