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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {