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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, 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 grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {