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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {