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I have a few opinions about the comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, 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 achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {