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I possess a few thoughts regarding that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships 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 future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {