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I have a few opinions about that remarks delivered by ESPN broadcaster a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and consistent victories

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 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful strength on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and grace of much shorter men. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and held 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 could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous opportunities to break. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the point of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any version of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {