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I possess a few opinions about that comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – the athlete represents the United States, the commentator is American – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown would have been understandable. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he actually liked his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed number four in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive strength on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to defeat the majority of opponents on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The last several years has seen the curious rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His movement is rigid, 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 typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. Last year, he unexpectedly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What was 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 American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

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

The American's play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the run to the point of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible service game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish secondary to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to win it. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly seem 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 athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unjust. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Group

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

“I would likely think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. I hope he understands that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {