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I have a few opinions about that comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace 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 legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American'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 seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {