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I have some thoughts about the comments made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting 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 right now, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {