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I have a few thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American 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 Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {