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I have a few thoughts about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's victory over the American player in the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, Fowler is from the US – and sports often lend themselves to patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Instead, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: none of them has won a trophy since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if the American had beaten Djokovic for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the following match, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the previous seven major titles (plus Alcaraz proceeded to defeat a tired Serbian in the next round). Fritz stated in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact liked his draw, because it offered the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world back-to-back. Fritz is well justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is meant to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

The American star's second serve the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

The American, 28, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his previous six matches over No 3 Alexander Zverev with growing comfort. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of performance metrics away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both front side and backhand are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the ATP tour. When facing the handful of once-in-a-lifetime players, though, Fritz is often helpless. The last several years has witnessed the curious rise of lanky, towering athletes who can nevertheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is stiff, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he seldom steal a point that the other player was controlling, and hitting a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That acts as a pretty harsh limitation on his potential.

Fritz has made a several dramatic, unexpected advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the top 30. 24 months later, he was approaching the elite ten. The previous season, he unexpectedly surged up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What could Fowler have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was worth mentioning the continuing drought of American men winning major titles when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just too much and the appreciation for the magnitude of the task insufficient.

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

Fritz’s play in that exact quarter-final should have been sufficient of an indication. Djokovic won in four rounds, a win that only seemed uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when the American had survived a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The duo looked evenly matched during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he promptly played a horrendous service game to lose his own serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to use excessive effort to prevail. Facing set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to beat any version of the Serbian, that lost to Alcaraz in the following match and never particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the best player ever, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating the American to win, and putting pressure on him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that indicated he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the circuit regardless. He’s a calm, reflective presence in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour except for the Russian star, willing to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a match, but explain it. That he ought to bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unjust. (Now that the fellow American is rubbing shoulders with him in the standings, maybe they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

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)
• The Canadian talent

“I’d probably think about it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of winning a grand slam. It is hoped he understands that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is actually highly unlikely for all other players. {