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I have some thoughts regarding the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {