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I have some opinions about that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {