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I possess some opinions about that remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion 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 the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best players in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {