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I have some thoughts about that 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. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz 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 other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {