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I possess some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem 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 athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {