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I possess some opinions about the comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews 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. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter 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 seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {