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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed 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. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {