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I have a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: 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 enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of US male players winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {