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I have some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {