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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: not one 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, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s top-class serve and powerful strength on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of smaller players. He 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 other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of significant, unexpected improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded to No 4 – and held the spot. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Down match points in the last game, his primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, just a consequence of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak 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 those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only say his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for the United States not spawn 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 divide that load.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Group

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• 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 a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {