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I have some thoughts about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {