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I possess some thoughts regarding the remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared 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 service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {