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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals 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 win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate 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 yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

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,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {