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I possess some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the world back-to-back. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and backhand are more than enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {