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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting 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, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last 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 at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on 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 unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged 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 having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {