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I possess a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked 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 Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, 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 commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, 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 seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {