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I possess a few thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, 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 anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {