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I have some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and 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 beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the streak 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 terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {