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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last 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 in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {