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I have some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high 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 backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining 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 appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he thought he could triumph. 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 developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {