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I possess some thoughts about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could 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 drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {