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I have a few opinions regarding the comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued absence of US male players at the majors: not one of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the drought of American champions on the brain?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting the upcoming year-end championships and has won his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, 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 usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. Last year, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning major titles when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz achieved a career-best run to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning 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 opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a terrible service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve sailed to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a match, but clarify it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for America failing to produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly unlikely for everybody else. {