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I have some opinions about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued 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 last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he 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.

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

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. 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 acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {