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I have some thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {