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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five 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 dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {