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I have a few thoughts about that comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {