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I possess some thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming 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 defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 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 rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {