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I possess a few opinions about the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat 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 desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem 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 now, but has developed enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {