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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to 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 does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {