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I have a few thoughts regarding that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler 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 slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, 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 chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed 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 knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided 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 rankings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {