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I have a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat 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 just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down match 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 was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {