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I possess a few opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past 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 divided the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating legendary figures 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 legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {