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I have some thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all enjoy a storyline, me too. But come on. Suppose Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected improvements over the years. 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 elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing 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 appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he 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; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He extended the match twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling proof that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share 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

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {