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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted 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 acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {