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I possess a few opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for 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 second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {