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I have some opinions regarding the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five 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 soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been 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 US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {