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I have some thoughts regarding the comments delivered by the sports network broadcaster a well-known announcer following the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage nationalism. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone enjoy a narrative, myself included. But really. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, who Fritz has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, against whom Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (and the Spaniard proceeded to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. He is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Djokovic quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed number four in the global rankings starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can climb: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has made a several significant, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged to fourth place – and maintained the spot. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and including a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task insufficient.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

The American's play in that very last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked evenly matched during the rallies, with the American earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the point of agony. When he finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a terrible game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the last game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a collapse, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and never especially appeared like he thought he could win. This is absolutely fine – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the height of his physical powers now, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed a journalist in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {