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I possess a few thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings entering this week’s year-end championships and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class serve and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly unlikely for everybody else. {