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I have some thoughts about the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins 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 opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian 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 final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring 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 patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {