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I have some thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over the American player during the New York major last eight. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was appropriate. Rather, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: 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.

We all enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Suppose Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was waiting in the next round, whom he has yet to beat in an competitive encounter. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the previous seven major titles (and the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He said in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three competitors in the world in succession. He is well within his right to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked number four in the global rankings entering the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and concussive power on both front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. Against the select few generational talents, though, he is frequently overmatched. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and looks it. His footwork is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his limbs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a pretty severe restriction on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements over the years. Early on of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months later, he was sniffing the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a declining Djokovic, is the toughest of all. What was Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of US male players lifting grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the All England Club last four in July.

The American's performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four sets, a win that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had survived a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to break. But Djokovic saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, prolonging the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to drop serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much effort to win it. Facing match points in the final game, his first serve floated to heaven. He prolonged the match twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that lost to Alcaraz in the next round and never especially appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and might not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an asset to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than almost everyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the strategy he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the blame for America not spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist seems unfair. (Now that Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

American legend Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• The Italian stylist

Swedish icon Group

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is actually highly improbable for all other players. {