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I possess a few thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But really. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; 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?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and concussive strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few seasons has seen the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. I hope 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 actually highly improbable for everybody else. {