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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• 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 fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {