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I have a few opinions regarding the comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the New York major quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 the German with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class serve and concussive power on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. When facing the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

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

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a few championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible service game to lose his own serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, 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 ironclad evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly seem like he believed he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {