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I possess a few opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 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 Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement 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 hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope 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 in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {