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I possess a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for moments 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 well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {