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I have some thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. 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 was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {