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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up 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 competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, 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 he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {