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I possess a few opinions about that remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued 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 final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor 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 on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {