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I have a few opinions about that comments delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {