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I possess some thoughts regarding the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are more than enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been 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 winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {