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I have a few opinions about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler 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 continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {