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I have some opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, 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 against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America 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, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {