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I have a few thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {