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I have some opinions regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator a well-known announcer after Novak Djokovic's victory over the American player during the US Open last eight. Consider – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. Some disappointment was appropriate. Instead, he invoked the continued drought of US male players 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 competition.

We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who he has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had dropped 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also divided the last seven major titles (and the Spaniard went on to defeat a fatigued Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he in fact liked his draw, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an athlete is meant to have faith in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match what other person in their right mind had the drought of American champions in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing between her and sustained success

Fritz, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the world starting the upcoming ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 the German with growing comfort. It's likely he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard sit a chasm of performance metrics away. His elite serve and powerful strength on both front side and backhand are more than adequate to dispose of the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, however, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is rigid, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the opponent was dictating, and playing a drop shot against him is typically a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh restriction on his potential.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, improbable improvements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, Sinner, and including a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when Fritz had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the challenge insufficient.

The American star achieved a career-best run to the Wimbledon last four in the summer.

Fritz’s performance in that very quarter-final ought to have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple match points and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the rallies, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But the champion saved service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the run to the point of frustration. When he eventually did convert one of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly produced a horrendous game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use excessive energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, Fritz’s primary delivery sailed to the sky. He prolonged the match two times on his second serve, but finally committed two errors. It wasn’t a collapse, I didn’t think, only a consequence of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly compelling evidence that the American is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of Djokovic, who was defeated by Alcaraz in the next round and never particularly appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was yet to done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour nonetheless. He’s a calm, thoughtful presence in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the men's tour aside from Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he ought to shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not produce a male major champion since Andy Roddick seems unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, perhaps they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Singles Groups

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• Taylor Fritz (US)
• The Australian speedster
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t accomplish it,” the American told a journalist in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not achieve that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {