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I possess some thoughts regarding the remarks made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, he invoked the ongoing drought of US male players at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the chance to beat the top three competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the lack of American champions in mind?

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

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that right now, that is as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a vast gap of performance metrics away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, he is frequently helpless. The last several years has seen the curious emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning major titles when Fritz had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after break point, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to expend far too much effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice 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 too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially appeared like he believed he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were expecting the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful voice in media sessions, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not only say how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a match, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States not produce a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, perhaps they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed a journalist in the summer of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying reign is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {