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I have some thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, 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 weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {