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I have some opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable 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 elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was 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 continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {