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I possess a few opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting 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 evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {