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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {