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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived 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 major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, 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 mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to 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 does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {