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I have a few opinions about that comments delivered by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. Some letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the continued drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature the Spanish star was waiting in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of American champions on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the global rankings starting this week’s year-end championships and has won his last six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite serve and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the select few generational talents, however, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he unexpectedly surged to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of American men lifting major titles 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 challenge too little.

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

The American's performance in that very last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved break point after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did claim one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use excessive effort to win it. 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 committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The contest was quite compelling evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he felt determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for America failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” the American informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually highly improbable for all other players. {