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I possess some opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, 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, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough 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 win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {