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I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

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

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six encounters over No 3 Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's performance in that very quarter-final should have been enough of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a terrible service game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to heaven. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share 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)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is in fact extremely unlikely for everybody else. {