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I possess a few thoughts about the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the New York major quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, Fowler is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Rather, he invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently enough to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, however, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely 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 quite harsh limitation on his upside.

The American has made a several significant, improbable advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest 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 appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men lifting grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the All England Club last four in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of frustration. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any version of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, willing to not just express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually extremely improbable for all other players. {