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I have a few thoughts about that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into 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 sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement 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 drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {