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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he invoked 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, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used 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 quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender 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 thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {