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I possess some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players 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 tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz 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 win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• 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 fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {