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I have a few opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest 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 worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {