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I have some opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players 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.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than 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 sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely 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: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory 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 well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem 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 enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {