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I possess a few thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He 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 steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {