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I have a few thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors 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 Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {