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I possess some opinions about the remarks delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Down match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for America not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {