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I have a few opinions about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, 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 continuing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly 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 acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {