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I have a few opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement 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 playing a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced 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, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {