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I have some thoughts regarding that comments made by the sports network commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the US Open quarter-finals. Consider – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and sports frequently lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. Some letdown was appropriate. Instead, he brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: none of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and he had been the final representative in the competition.

Everyone love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if the American defeated Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And had he somehow gotten past that, it would have been title holder the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also divided the last seven major titles (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). He said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he actually liked his path, because it offered the opportunity to beat the top three competitors in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well within his right to aim for the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of American champions on the brain?

The American star's second serve the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might claim that position for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that is as high as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite serve and concussive strength on both front side and backhand are more than enough to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, he is often helpless. The past few years has seen the interesting rise of tall, gangly players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace 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 limbs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot against him is usually a safe bet. That acts as a quite harsh restriction on his potential.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the lower end of the world's best thirty. 24 months after, he was sniffing the elite ten. The previous season, he suddenly exploded to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the ongoing drought of American men lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

Taylor Fritz made a personal best run to the Wimbledon last four in July.

The American's play in that exact last eight match ought to have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had saved a few match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo appeared evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz earning plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did convert one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately played a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the real battle and forced him to use far too much energy to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the contest two times on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of needing to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that the American is not good enough to beat any form of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he believed he could win. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed enough 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 achieve that, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he would.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a calm, thoughtful voice in press conferences, more so than virtually everyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not only express his emotions or the strategy he believed determined a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States not spawn a men's grand slam winner since the last American titlist seems unjust. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

American legend Group

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

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• Ben Shelton (US)
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I fail to do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in June of winning a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying empire is actually extremely improbable for everybody else. {