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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: 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.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind 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 placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {