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I have some thoughts about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz 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 players in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• 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 don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. 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 reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {