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I have some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable 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 maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played 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 expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {