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I have a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could 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 continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal 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 sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {