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I possess some thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {