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I have a few opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, 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 lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit 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 had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• 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 told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for all other players. {