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I have some thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 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 far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {