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I have some thoughts about the remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently 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 he had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a narrative, me too. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). Fritz said in press following his defeat that he actually liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier between her and consistent victories

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the world starting this week’s year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class serve and powerful strength on each forehand and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The past few years has seen the curious emergence of lanky, towering players who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and grace of smaller men. Fritz is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. Early on of the decade, he was circling the lower end of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that very quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had saved a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When he finally did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a terrible service game to lose his own serve once more; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to heaven. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, that lost to the Spaniard in the following match and never especially seem like he thought he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, willing to not only express how he feels or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce 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 share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t do it,” the American told a journalist in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {