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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked 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 might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just 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 beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience 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 had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {