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I have a few opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought 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 final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {