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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {