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I possess a few thoughts about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of 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 approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated 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 consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {