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I have some thoughts about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, 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 could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {