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I have a few opinions about the comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot 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 ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact 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 very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {