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I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {