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I have a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally 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 potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic 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 compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {