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I possess a few opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion 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 (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {