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I have a few opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s 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 adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. 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 hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough 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 prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {