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I possess a few opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful strength on both front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {