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I have some thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. 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. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships 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 at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams 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 challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {