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I have some opinions regarding that remarks made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Instead, Fowler invoked the ongoing drought of American men 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 love a storyline, me too. But really. Even if Fritz defeated the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder the Italian, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a tired Djokovic in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his draw, because it presented the chance to defeat the top three players in the world back-to-back. He is more than within his right to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But entering that Djokovic last eight match what other person in their right mind had the lack of American champions in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing between her and consistent victories

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the future. But it’s clear that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite serve and concussive power on each front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat most rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is often helpless. The past few years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising quickness and grace of much shorter players. He is six-foot-five and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected 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 after, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, 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 commenting on the ongoing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the challenge too little.

The American star achieved a personal best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been enough of an sign. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a few championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a horrendous game to drop serve again; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend excessive effort to win it. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but ultimately double-faulted. It wasn’t a collapse, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that the American is not good enough to defeat any form of Djokovic, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he believed he could win. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed enough experience and tactical know-how to compensate for quite a bit of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, exceeding virtually everyone on the ATP aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say his emotions or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• The Spanish phenom
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Group

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably think about it forever if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz told a journalist in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable reign is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {