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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining 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 mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt 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 pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {