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I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative 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, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain 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 appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {