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I have a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than 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 helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been 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 lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {