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I possess some opinions about that remarks made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {