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I have a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit 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 would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {