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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz 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 official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, 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 commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad 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 believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {