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I have a few thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {