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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz 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 achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {