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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one 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 love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {