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I have some opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous 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 far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator 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 ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain 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 pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem 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 developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {