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I have a few opinions about the remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than 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 last several years has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up 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 achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually extremely unlikely for all other players. {