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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway 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 previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was 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 continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak 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 problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {