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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering 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 standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth 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 excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities 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 anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {