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I possess some opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: 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 love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, 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 responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {