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I have some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance 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 going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. 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 ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {