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I possess a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure 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. {