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I have a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {