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I possess some thoughts regarding the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not 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 beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {