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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he 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 lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally 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 match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {