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I have a few opinions regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing 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, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities 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 real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {