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I possess a few opinions about that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {