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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived 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 previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing 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 matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, 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 usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator 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 drought of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {