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I possess a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, 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 drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {