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I have a few thoughts about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment would have been understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing absence of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

The American, 28, is placed fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. His elite delivery and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a soft shot versus him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several significant, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and including a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” the American informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {