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I have a few opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed 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 controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements 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 approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler 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 lifting 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 All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {