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I possess a few opinions about that comments made by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Instead, he brought up the continued absence of American men at the majors: none of them has won a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the competition.

We all love a narrative, me too. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the following match, whom he has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been title holder Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (and Alcaraz went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to defeat the three best competitors in the sport in succession. Fritz is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an athlete is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six encounters over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of ranking points away. Fritz’s top-class delivery and powerful power on each forehand and reverse side are more than enough to defeat most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, however, he is frequently helpless. The past few seasons has witnessed the curious emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the surprising quickness and fluidity of smaller men. He is 6ft 5ins and looks it. 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 dictating, and playing a soft shot against him is typically a safe bet. That serves as a quite severe restriction on his upside.

Fritz has made a number of significant, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was hovering around the lower end of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly surged to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could Fowler thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing slump of American men winning grand slams when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is simply too much and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

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

Fritz’s performance in that exact last eight match should have been sufficient of an indication. The Serbian won in four sets, a victory that only seemed tenuous for brief periods towards the conclusion, when Fritz had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the rallies, with the American creating plenty of chances to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When Fritz finally did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to win it. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to the sky. He extended the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a collapse, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the next round and did not especially seem like he thought he could win. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his athletic abilities anymore, but has acquired enough knowledge and strategic intelligence to compensate for quite a bit of the drop-off. The problem is those who were expecting the American to win, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was had not done anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express his emotions or the tactic he felt determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America failing to produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, maybe they can share that burden.)

Year-End Championships: Player Divisions

American legend Division

• The Spanish phenom
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Bjorn Borg Division

• The Italian champion
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in June of winning a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that overcoming Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable reign is in fact extremely improbable for all other players. {