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I have some thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. 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. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. 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 accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {