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I have some thoughts about the comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler following the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz during the New York major last eight. Look – Fritz is the United States, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of letdown was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the continued drought of American men at grand slam tournaments: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the tournament.

Everyone enjoy a storyline, myself included. But really. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent the Spanish star was looming in the following match, whom Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, against whom the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard went on to thrash a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews after the loss that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the opportunity to beat the three best players in the world in succession. He is well justified to aim for the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

Fritz, 28, is ranked number four in the world starting this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over third-ranked Alexander Zverev with increasing ease. Presumably he might take that spot for himself in the coming years. But evidently that right now, that’s as high as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a vast gap of ranking points away. Fritz’s elite delivery and concussive power on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently adequate to defeat the majority of rivals on the professional circuit. Against the select few generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several years has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless move around with the alarming speed and grace of smaller men. He 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 opponent was controlling, and hitting a drop shot versus him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected advancements over the years. At the beginning of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the top 30. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he suddenly surged up to fourth place – and maintained the position. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and beating all-time-greats like the young Spaniard, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator have been thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate commenting on the ongoing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had departed the US Open in the quarter-finals? The thirst is just excessive and the respect for the magnitude of the challenge too little.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the All England Club last four in the summer.

The American's play in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic triumphed in four rounds, a victory that only seemed uncertain for moments towards the very end, when the American had saved a couple match points and had a opportunity to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with Fritz creating plenty of opportunities to break. But the champion saved break point after break point, extending the run to the point of agony. When Fritz finally did claim one of the chances at 5-5 in the second set, he immediately produced a horrendous service game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a skirmish peripheral to the main contest and compelled him to use far too much effort to prevail. Down match points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve sailed to the sky. He extended the match two times on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, in my opinion, only a consequence of having to hit too many weaker deliveries.

The contest was fairly compelling proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, who lost to the Spaniard in the next round and did not particularly appeared like he thought he could triumph. 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 developed sufficient knowledge and strategic intelligence to make up for a significant portion of the drop-off. The problem is the individuals who were expecting Fritz to prevail, and putting pressure on him to achieve that, when he was yet to accomplished anything that indicated he could.

The American is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, reflective presence in media sessions, more so than virtually anyone on the ATP except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not only express how he feels or the strategy he felt decided a match, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to produce a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is rubbing shoulders with him in the rankings, maybe they can share that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Swedish icon Division

• Jannik Sinner (It)
• Alexander Zverev (Ger)
• Ben Shelton (US)
• The Canadian talent

“I would likely dwell on it indefinitely if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. It is hoped he realizes that he’s not a failure if he does not fulfill that objective, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s dominant, formidable empire is actually highly improbable for everybody else. {