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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could 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 sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {