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I have some thoughts regarding that comments delivered by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler after the Serbian champion's victory over the American player during the US Open quarter-finals. Look – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and sports often encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Rather, he invoked the ongoing absence 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 last one standing in the tournament.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten the legend for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has never defeated in an official match. And if he’d somehow gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had lost 10 of the last 11 sets. The two young stars had also split the last seven grand slams (plus Alcaraz went on to thrash a tired Serbian in the subsequent match). Fritz stated in press after the loss that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the top three players in the world in succession. Fritz is more than within his right to aspire to the accomplishment; an athlete is supposed to have faith in themselves. But going into that Serbian last eight match who else in their right mind had the lack of US winners on the brain?

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

Fritz, 28, is ranked fourth in the world entering the upcoming year-end championships and has secured his previous six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he could take that spot for himself in the coming years. But it’s clear that at present, that’s as far as he can rise: Sinner and Alcaraz sit a vast gap of performance metrics away. His top-class delivery and powerful power on both forehand and reverse side are more than enough to dispose of most opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, he is often overmatched. The last several years has seen the interesting emergence of tall, gangly athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the surprising speed and fluidity of smaller players. Fritz is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His footwork is stiff, as if he hasn't fully adapted to his limbs. So he’ll rarely win a rally that the other player was dictating, and hitting a soft shot versus him is typically a safe bet. That acts as a pretty severe limitation on his upside.

Fritz has made a several significant, improbable improvements throughout his career. Early on of the ten-year period, he was circling the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was sniffing the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and maintained the position. But the next leap, competing against and beating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and even a declining Serbian, is the toughest of all. What could the commentator have been thinking? That the American, in 2025, was a legitimate contender to beat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of American men lifting major titles when he had exited the US Open in the quarter-finals? The desperation is simply excessive and the respect for the difficulty of the task too little.

The American star achieved a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer.

Fritz’s play in that very last eight match should have been enough of an indication. The Serbian triumphed in four sets, a victory that only felt uncertain for brief periods towards the very end, when Fritz had saved a couple championship opportunities and had a chance to hold for 5-5. The pair looked well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American creating numerous chances to win the opponent's serve. But Djokovic rescued break point after break point, prolonging the streak to the point of agony. When he eventually did convert a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the second set, he promptly produced a terrible game to lose his own serve again; the Serbian had drawn him into a battle secondary to the real battle and compelled him to expend excessive effort to prevail. Facing match points in the final game, his primary delivery floated to heaven. He extended the match two times on his second serve, but ultimately committed two errors. It was not a choke, in my opinion, just a result of needing to hit too many second serves.

The contest was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is insufficiently skilled to defeat any form of the Serbian, that was defeated by Alcaraz in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly fine – Djokovic is the greatest of all time, and may not be at the peak of his physical powers now, but has developed sufficient experience and tactical know-how to compensate for a significant portion of the drop-off. The issue is the individuals who were anticipating Fritz to prevail, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not accomplished anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an valuable contributor to the tour regardless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, exceeding virtually anyone on the men's tour except for Daniil Medvedev, prepared to not just express how he feels or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but clarify it. That he should shoulder the majority of the blame for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since the fellow American is competing alongside him in the rankings, perhaps they can share that burden.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

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

Bjorn Borg Division

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

“I’d probably think about it indefinitely if I fail to accomplish it,” Fritz informed an interviewer in the summer of claiming a major. I hope he realizes that he’s not unsuccessful if he does not fulfill that goal, that breaking through the Spanish and Italian's dominant, formidable empire is actually extremely unlikely for everybody else. {