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I have a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy 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. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, 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 commenting on the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {