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I have a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past 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 previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, 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 lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {