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I have some opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining 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 appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {