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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone 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 looming in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up 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 Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish 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 does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {