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I have some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow 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 grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {