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I possess some opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {