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I have some opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {