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I have a few opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {