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I possess a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to 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 doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {