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I possess some thoughts about that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often overmatched. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {