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I possess some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed 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 seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging 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 continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz 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.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {