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I possess some thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, he is often overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of much shorter players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly surged to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of American men winning major titles when he had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just 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 beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for America not spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact extremely improbable for everybody else. {