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I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: 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 defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {