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I possess a few opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {