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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator 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 drought of US male players winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that very quarter-final ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals 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 valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Group

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {