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I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – 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 a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that 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)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {