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I have some opinions about that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {