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I have a few thoughts regarding the comments delivered by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's win over Taylor Fritz in the US Open last eight. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is from the US – and sports frequently encourage nationalism. A little bit of disappointment would have been appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing drought of American men at the majors: not one of them has won a title since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.

Everyone love a storyline, me too. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the initial occasion, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, whom he has never defeated in an official match. And had he somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion the Italian, versus him the American had lost 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to defeat a fatigued Serbian in the next round). Fritz said in post-match interviews following his defeat that he in fact preferred his path, because it presented the chance to beat the three best competitors in the world in succession. He is more than justified to aspire to the accomplishment; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Serbian last eight match who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the only thing standing in her way and consistent victories

Fritz, twenty-eight, is placed fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has secured his previous six encounters over No 3 the German with increasing ease. It's likely he might take that spot for himself in the future. But evidently that right now, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of ranking points away. His elite delivery and powerful power on each front side and reverse side are more than adequate to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. When facing the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently helpless. The last several seasons has seen the curious rise of lanky, towering players who can nevertheless cover the court with the surprising speed and grace of smaller players. He is six-foot-five and looks it. His movement is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his legs. So he seldom win a rally that the other player was controlling, and playing a soft shot versus him is typically a reliable tactic. That serves as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

The American has achieved a several dramatic, unexpected improvements throughout his career. Early on of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years later, he was approaching the top 10. The previous season, he unexpectedly exploded up to fourth place – and held the spot. But the subsequent step, mixing it up with and defeating legendary figures like Alcaraz, Sinner, and even a aging Djokovic, is the highest of all. What could the commentator thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a serious threat to beat them all back-to-back? That it was worth commenting on the continuing slump of US male players lifting major titles when Fritz had exited the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply too much and the appreciation for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon last four in July.

Fritz’s performance in that very last eight match should have been sufficient of an sign. The Serbian won in four rounds, a win that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the conclusion, when the American had survived a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the rallies, with Fritz earning numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after service break opportunity, extending the run to the brink of frustration. When Fritz eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately played a terrible 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 far too much effort to prevail. Down set points in the last game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He prolonged the contest twice on his backup delivery, but finally double-faulted. It was not a choke, I didn’t think, only a consequence of having to hit an excessive number of weaker deliveries.

The match was quite ironclad evidence that Fritz is not good enough to defeat any form of the Serbian, who was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially appeared like he believed he could triumph. This is absolutely fine – Djokovic is the best player ever, and may not be at the height of his athletic abilities now, but has acquired enough experience and strategic intelligence to make up for quite a bit of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to achieve that, when he was yet to done anything that indicated he would.

The American is an valuable contributor to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a calm, reflective voice in media sessions, exceeding almost anyone on the men's tour aside from the Russian star, prepared to not just say how he feels or the tactic he believed determined a contest, but explain it. That he should shoulder the majority of the responsibility for America not produce a men's grand slam winner since Andy Roddick feels unfair. (Now that 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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I would likely think about it forever if I don’t do it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of winning a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that objective, that overcoming the Spanish and Italian's young, terrifying reign is in fact extremely unlikely for all other players. {