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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic 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 standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {