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I have some thoughts regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that the American is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should 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. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {