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I possess some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else 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 consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning numerous chances 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 Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {