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I have a few thoughts about the comments made by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one 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, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {