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I have a few opinions regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest 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 appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t 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 achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {