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I have a few thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. 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 split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably 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 understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {