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I have some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title 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 come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including 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 worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. 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 actually extremely improbable for all other players. {