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I possess some opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her 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 No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was 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 ongoing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {