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I possess a few thoughts about that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {