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I possess some thoughts regarding the remarks delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following Novak Djokovic's victory over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently lend themselves to nationalism. Some disappointment was appropriate. Rather, Fowler invoked the continued absence of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But really. Suppose the American defeated Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best competitors in the sport back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final what other person sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is often helpless. The past few seasons has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a number of dramatic, unexpected improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of US male players lifting grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a career-best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

The American's performance in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic won in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of frustration. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive energy to prevail. Down match points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were anticipating the American to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective voice in press conferences, exceeding almost everyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {