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I possess a few opinions regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating 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 nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions 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 Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {