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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in press after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could 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 ongoing slump of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals 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 would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {