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I possess a few opinions regarding the remarks delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest 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 continuing drought of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain 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 appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion 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 indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {