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I have some thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer following Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and sports often encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (and Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's weaker delivery the only thing between her and sustained success

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of ranking points away. His top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a number of significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly 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 including a declining Serbian, is the toughest 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 Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is those who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a contest, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that the fellow American 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)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {