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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible 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 far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought 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 sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, 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 seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• 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 a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {