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I have some thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else 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 number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining 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 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 appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly 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 now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {