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I have some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles 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 too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, 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 regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {