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I possess some opinions about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, 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 approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {