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I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite 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 did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {