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I have a few thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is six-foot-five and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat 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 desperation is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {