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I have a few thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, 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 soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {