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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant 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 standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {