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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {