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I possess some opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). He said in press after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; 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?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable 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 top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest 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 grand slams 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 task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – 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 make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {