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I have a few thoughts about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. 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 Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. 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 controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {