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I possess some opinions regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is those 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 valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {