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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all enjoy a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of US winners on the brain?

The American star's weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and powerful strength on each forehand and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

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

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I fail to do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {