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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest 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 appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {