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I possess a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. 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 had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {