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I have a few opinions about the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American 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 defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest 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 mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough 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 maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

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
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {