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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings 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 could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up 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 had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {