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I possess some thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: 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 competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {