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I have a few opinions about that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• 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 indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {