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I have some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {