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I possess a few opinions regarding that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: 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, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {