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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats 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 legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt 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 looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point 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 forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American 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 tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {