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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic 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 aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap 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 most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, 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 departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {