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I possess a few opinions about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to 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 survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging 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 played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {