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I have a few thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it offered 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 athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

The American has achieved a several significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has acquired sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {