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I have some thoughts regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. 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 playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {