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I possess a few opinions about that remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway 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 previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was 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 slump of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {