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I have some thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. 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 drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. 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 developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {