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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator 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 slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances 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 main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {