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I have some thoughts about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he someway survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming quickness and grace of smaller players. He is 6ft 5ins 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 controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on 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. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and held the spot. But the next leap, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating numerous opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But the champion rescued break point after service break opportunity, 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 produced a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use far too much energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never especially seem like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

American legend Group

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming 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 in fact highly improbable for all other players. {