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I have some thoughts regarding that comments made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth 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 growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, 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 versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {