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I have some thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on each forehand and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was 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 slump of American men winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone 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 responsibility for America failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {