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I have some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none 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. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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 ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {