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I possess some opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several 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 later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

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 don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {