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I have a few thoughts about that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {