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I possess some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none 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 love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• 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 would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {