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I have some opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements 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 after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {