🔗 Share this article

I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been 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 winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {