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I possess a few thoughts about that remarks made by the sports network broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some letdown would have been appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked 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 Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

Everyone love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the initial occasion, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, who Fritz has never defeated in an competitive encounter. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a fatigued Djokovic in the next round). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is meant to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is placed fourth in the world starting the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his last six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful strength on each front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of most rivals on the ATP tour. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the alarming 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 limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a quite severe restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a number of dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and held the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, Sinner, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the ongoing slump of American men winning major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a personal best advancement to the All England Club semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an indication. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt tenuous for moments towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of opportunities to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after break point, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the real battle and forced him to expend excessive energy to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of second serves.

The match was quite compelling evidence that the American is not good enough to beat any form of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he thought he could win. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired sufficient knowledge and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that suggested he could.

The American is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in press conferences, more so than almost anyone on the ATP aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the tactic he felt decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• The Australian speedster
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of claiming a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for all other players. {