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I possess some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. 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 steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to 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 share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {