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I have some opinions regarding the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final 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, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {