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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly 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 athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told 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 objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {