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I possess some opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing absence of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much energy to win it. Down set points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {