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I have some opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he 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 career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {