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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued absence of US male players at the majors: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three players in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding virtually anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility 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 standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes 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 extremely unlikely for all other players. {