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I possess a few opinions about that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: 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.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous 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 evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. 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 dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {